The U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) has removed ethylene
glycol butyl ether (EGBE) from the
Clean Air Act (CAA) list of hazardous
air pollutants (HAPs). The
EPA decision means that EGBE will
no longer be subject to the CAA’s
Maximum Achievable Control
Technology Requirements, or its
residual risk and other requirements.
It also creates incentives for
industry to use EBE instead of more
toxic solvents.
“This is excellent news for our
customers,” said Mark Bassett, sen-ior business commercial leader, Dow
Oxygenated Solvents. “Our customers
can now reap the full benefits
of Butyl Cellosolve solvent, our
most cost-effective coupling solvent.”
Lyondell Chemical Company’s
Equistar Chemicals business also
manufactures EGBE. With the delisting,
Lyondell expects to see
increased usage in a variety of applications,
including as a solvent in
coating formulations.
“Emissions from this solvent will
not count against a coating manufacturer
or blender’s total HAPs emissions,”
said Janet Miertschin, marketing
manager, Lyondell. “This
gives our customers increased flexibility
to meet their HAPs emission
requirements.”
For additional information on the
EPA ruling, log on to the American
Chemistry Council’s glycol ethers
panel at www.egep.org.