The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently issued a proposed rule to establish national emission standards for commercial and industrial boilers fueled by coal, biomass, or oil. 

Although the proposed rule applies to the owners and operators of commercial and industrial oil-fired boilers of any input, it specifies the following limits for new boilers (i.e., those installed on or after June 4, 2010):

• Particulate matter: No more than 0.03 ppm British thermal units of heat input.

• Carbon-monoxide (CO) emissions: No more than 1 ppm by volume corrected to 3-percent oxygen. 

The proposed rule also specifies a CO-emission limit of 2 ppm by volume corrected to 3-percent oxygen for all existing commercial and industrial oil-fired boilers with input ratings of 10 million Btuh or greater.

For more details contact AHRI Chief Technical Advisor Frank Stanonik.