Optimising a fall out dust monitoring sampling programme at a cement manufacturing plant in South Africa

Abstract

The aim of this study at the specific cement manufacturing plant and open cast mine was to develop a positioning guideline for monitoring equipment and to optimise the fall out dust sampling programme. A baseline study was conducted on existing practices and legal requirements relating to fall out dust monitoring. The different methods and techniques for the identification of particulate emission sources and the calculation of emission rates were evaluated in order to identify the simplest and most cost effective options. Due to the complexity of sampling particulate emissions, emission factors and existing stack monitoring results were used to calculate the emissions. The quantified point and fugitive emissions rates were used to populate a dust dispersion model and the modeling results were compared with the existing monitoring program results. Due to the complexity of actual measurements or applying the principles of a mass balance in the total cement manufacturing process to calculate emission rates it was found that the selected use of emission factors is a simpler and less costly method. The study concluded that, after superimposing the dispersion model to the results from the existing sampling positions, existing sampling positions are not optimally located. A guideline for the optimisation of a fall out dust monitoring program is proposed.

Key words: Fall out dust monitoring, cement plant, optimising, air pollution sampling, fall out dust sampler locations.