To MACT and Beyond

In the 1970s, FMC Corp., a chemical manufacturer headquartered in Philadelphia, began operating a high-efficiency thermal destruction facility to dispose of hazardous liquid wastes at its Baltimore pesticide manufacturing plant. The facility used a thermal oxidizer with a rapid quencher and packed tower scrubber to remove air pollution emissions. The system was upgraded in the early ’80s and configured with a thermal oxidizer, flue gas quenching stage, condensing section, a wet electrostatic precipitator (WESP) and induced draft fan. In 2000, the company recognized that, while the system was meeting existing EPA standards, it was nearing the end of its useful life.