Regulations last checked for updates: Nov 22, 2024

Title 40 - Protection of Environment last revised: Nov 20, 2024
§ 60.701a - What definitions must I know?

As used in this subpart, all terms not defined herein have the meaning given them in the Clean Air Act and subpart A of this part.

Batch operation means any noncontinuous reactor process that is not characterized by steady-state conditions and in which reactants are not added and products are not removed simultaneously.

Boiler means any enclosed combustion device that extracts useful energy in the form of steam and is not an incinerator.

Breakthrough means the time when the level of TOC, measured at the outlet of the first bed, has been detected is at the highest concentration allowed to be discharged from the adsorber system and indicates that the adsorber bed should be replaced.

By compound means by individual stream components, not carbon equivalents.

Car-seal means a seal that is placed on a device that is used to change the position of a valve (e.g., from opened to closed) in such a way that the position of the valve cannot be changed without breaking the seal.

Closed vent system means a system that is not open to the atmosphere and is composed of piping, ductwork, connections, and, if necessary, flow inducing devices that transport gas or vapor from an emission point to a control device.

Combustion device means an individual unit of equipment, such as an incinerator, flare, boiler, or process heater, used for combustion of a vent stream discharged from the process vent.

Continuous recorder means a data recording device recording an instantaneous data value at least once every 15 minutes.

Flame zone means the portion of the combustion chamber in a boiler or process heater occupied by the flame envelope.

Flow indicator means a device which indicates whether gas flow is present in a line.

Fuel gas means gases that are combusted to derive useful work or heat.

Fuel gas system means the offsite and onsite piping and flow and pressure control system that gathers gaseous stream(s) generated by onsite operations, may blend them with other sources of gas, and transports the gaseous stream for use as fuel gas in combustion devices or in in-process combustion equipment such as furnaces and gas turbines either singly or in combination.

Halogenated vent stream means any vent stream determined to have a total concentration (by volume) of compounds containing halogens of 20 ppmv (by compound) or greater.

Incinerator means an enclosed combustion device that is used for destroying organic compounds. If there is energy recovery, the energy recovery section and the combustion chambers are not of integral design. That is, the energy recovery section and the combustion section are not physically formed into one manufactured or assembled unit but are joined by ducts or connections carrying flue gas.

Pressure-assisted multi-point flare means a flare system consisting of multiple flare burners in staged arrays whereby the vent stream pressure is used to promote mixing and smokeless operation at the flare burner tips. Pressure-assisted multi-point flares are designed for smokeless operation at velocities up to Mach = 1 conditions (i.e., sonic conditions), can be elevated or at ground level, and typically use cross-lighting for flame propagation to combust any flare vent gases sent to a particular stage of flare burners.

Primary fuel means the fuel fired through a burner or a number of similar burners. The primary fuel provides the principal heat input to the device, and the amount of fuel is sufficient to sustain operation without the addition of other fuels.

Process heater means a device that transfers heat liberated by burning fuel directly to process streams or to heat transfer liquids other than water.

Process unit means equipment assembled and connected by pipes or ducts to produce, as intermediates or final products, one or more of the chemicals in § 60.707a. A process unit can operate independently if supplied with sufficient feed or raw materials and sufficient product storage facilities.

Product means any compound or chemical listed in § 60.707a which is produced for sale as a final product as that chemical, or for use in the production of other chemicals or compounds. By-products, co-products, and intermediates are considered to be products.

Reactor processes are unit operations in which one or more chemicals, or reactants other than air, are combined or decomposed in such a way that their molecular structures are altered and one or more new organic compounds are formed.

Recovery device means an individual unit of equipment, such as an absorber, carbon adsorber, or condenser, capable of and used for the purpose of recovering chemicals for use, reuse, or sale.

Recovery system means an individual recovery device or series of such devices applied to the same vent stream.

Relief valve means a valve used only to release an unplanned, nonroutine discharge. A relief valve discharge results from an operator error, a malfunction such as a power failure or equipment failure, or other unexpected cause that requires immediate venting of gas from process equipment in order to avoid safety hazards or equipment damage.

Secondary fuel means a fuel fired through a burner other than a primary fuel burner. The secondary fuel may provide supplementary heat in addition to the heat provided by the primary fuel.

Total organic compounds or TOC means those compounds measured according to the procedures of Method 18 of appendix A-6 of this part or the concentration of organic compounds measured according to the procedures in Method 21 or Method 25A of appendix A-7 of this part.

Vent stream means any gas stream discharged directly from a reactor process to the atmosphere or indirectly to the atmosphere after diversion through other process equipment. The vent stream excludes and equipment leaks, including, but not limited to, pumps, compressors, and valves.

authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401
source: 36 FR 24877, Dec. 23, 1971, unless otherwise noted.
cite as: 40 CFR 60.701a