Standards fixed for industry emissions

According to the order dated March 17, 2022 , but issued on Monday, industries cannot use bio-mass fuel over 80mg/Nm3 in boilers and they should also limit emissions to 50mg/Nm3. There were no specific emission standards for biomass fuels till now.

The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in the National Capital Region and its Adjoining Areas on Monday set the permissible standards, including for emissions, in industries switching over to biomass fuels.

The CAQM said the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) standards for particulate matter (PM) emission with respect to coal is 150-1,200 mg/Nm3.

While the CAQM had earlier asked for industries across NCR still using “dirty” fuels such as coke to switch over to piped natural gas (PNG) by October 30, 2022, in a notification issued last month, it allowed the transition to biomass fuels too, noting this was relatively clean and a carbon neutral fuel option. Industries unable to switch to PNG will have to mandatorily adopt biomass fuels by December 31, 2022, it said.

According to the order dated March 17, 2022 , but issued on Monday, industries cannot use bio-mass fuel over 80mg/Nm3 in boilers and they should also limit emissions to 50mg/Nm3. There were no specific emission standards for biomass fuels till now.

“The maximum permissible emission standard for PM emissions for the biomass-fuelled boilers shall be 80 mg/Nm3. However, such industries shall aim for an emission level of 50 mg/Nm3 through suitable technology upgrades and installation of requisite air pollution control devices, such as bag filters, cylonic filters, wet scrubbers, ESPs etc,” said the order.

The CAQM said the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) standards for particulate matter (PM) emission with respect to coal is 150-1,200 mg/Nm3.

The CAQM has also asked for industries switching over to bio-mass fuel to take a fresh consent to operate (CTO) from the respective state pollution control board, keeping in mind the new prescribed emission standards.

“The respective state governments and pollution control boards in the state of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan shall disseminate and widely publicise these directions across all industrial sectors,” the order said.

In December last year, the commission had restricted operations of such industries not running on PNG or cleaner fuel to eight hours per day for five days a week, on account of deteriorating air quality in the NCR.