About this Manual

The purpose of all Emission Estimation Technique (EET) Manuals in this series is to assist Australian manufacturing, industrial and service facilities to report emissions of listed substances to the National Pollutant Inventory (NPI). This Manual describes the procedures and recommended approaches for estimating emissions from facilities engaged in nickel concentrating, smelting and refining.

The scope of this document is to outline methods that can be used by the nickel concentrating, smelting and refining industry to:

• identify which substances they are required to report as part of the National Pollutant Inventory (NPI); and
• estimate emissions of NPI substances to air, water and land from their facilities.

This handbook covers the concentrating, smelting and refining of nickel commencing from the delivery of ore to the processing facilities for crushing and milling, through smelting and to the production of +99% pure nickel at the refinery, for the nickel sulfide and nickel/cobalt laterite processes.

It does not include extraction of ore, which is covered by the EET Manual for Mining. Ancillary activities (eg. power generation, and ammonium sulfate and sulfuric acid production) are likewise not covered in this handbook but may be reportable under the NPI. These activities are covered by separate EET manuals.

The emission of NPI substances from processing facilities Tailings Storage Facilities (TSFs), waste management sites and sewerage systems are included in the reporting requirements of the NPI, and are covered by this manual.

EET MANUAL: Nickel Concentrating, Smelting & Refining

HANDBOOK: Basic Non-Ferrous Metal Manufacturing

ANZSIC CODE : 2729

First published in June 1999
National Pollutant Inventory
Environment Australia

Emission Estimation Techniques Used in the Manuals

Estimates of emissions of NPI-listed substances to air, water and land should be reported for each substance that triggers a threshold. The reporting list and detailed information on thresholds are contained in the NPI Guide at the front of this Industry Handbook. In general, there are four types of emission estimation technique (EET) that may be used to estimate emissions from a facility.

The four types described in the NPI Guide are:

• sampling or direct measurement
• mass balance
• fuel analysis or other engineering calculations
• emission factors