Material Recovery Section

{
  "id": "MLC-T-ENV-016660",
  "term": "Material Recovery Section",
  "field": "Environment",
  "definition": "1. Equipment that recovers unreacted or by-product materials from any process section for return to the process line, off-site purification or treatment, or sale. Equipment designed to separate unreacted or by-product material from the polymer product are to be included in this process section, provided at least some of the material is recovered for reuse in the process, off-site purification or treatment, or sale, at the time the process section becomes an affected facility. Otherwise such equipment are to be assigned to one of the other process sections, as appropriate. Equipment that treats recovered materials are to be included in this process section, but equipment that also treats raw materials are not to be included in this process section. The latter equipment are to be included in the raw materials preparation section. If equipment is used to return unreacted or by-product material directly to the same piece of process equipment from which it was emitted, then that equipment is considered part of the process section that contains the process equipment. If equipment is used to recover unreacted or by-product material from a process section and return it to another process section or a different piece of process equipment in the same process section or sends it off-site for purification, treatment, or sale, then such equipment are considered part of a material recovery section. Equipment used for the on-site recovery of ethylene glycol from poly(ethylene terephthalate) plants, however, are not included in the material recovery section, but are covered under the standards applicable to the polymerization reaction section (§ 60.562-1(c)(1)(ii)(A) or (2)(ii)(A)).\n\n2. For PET plants, the equipment that recovers by-product methanol from any process section for use, reuse, or sale, or the equipment that separates materials containing by-product methanol from any process section for off-site purification or treatment with the intent to recover methanol for reuse. For polystyrene plants, material recovery section means the equipment that recovers unreacted styrene from any process section for use, reuse, or sale, or the equipment that separates materials containing unreacted styrene from any process section for off-site purification or treatment with the intent to recover styrene for reuse. Equipment used to store recovered materials (i.e., ethylene glycol, methanol, or styrene) is not included. Equipment designed to recover or separate materials from the polymer product is to be included in this process section, provided that at the time of initial compliance some of the unreacted or by-product material is recovered for return to the TPPU, or sale, or provided that some of the separated material is sent for off-site purification or treatment with the intent to recover the unreacted or by-product material for reuse. Otherwise, such equipment is to be assigned to one of the other process sections, as appropriate. If equipment is used to recover unreacted or by-product material and return it directly to the same piece of process equipment from which it was emitted, then that recovery equipment is considered part of the process section that contains the process equipment. On the other hand, if equipment is used to recover unreacted or by-product material and return it to a different piece of process equipment in the same process section, that recovery equipment is considered part of a material recovery section. Equipment used for the on-site recovery of ethylene glycol from PET plants, however, is not included in the material recovery section; such equipment is to be included in the polymerization reaction section.",
  "references": [
    "40 CFR 60.561 (CFR 2013)",
    "EPA EV-Built Environments-Devices, Equipment, Appliances"
  ],
  "url": "https://mlchart.com/terminology/environment/material-recovery-section/"
}