Experience with DRE Testing of Point of Use FGHG Abatement Units at IBM

Tripp, Bruce; Davia, Dan; Raynor, Mark
(IBM, East Fishkill, NY and Matheson, Longmont, CO)

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In 2011 the US EPA established a rule (40CFR Part 98 Subpart I) requiring large integrated device manufacturers (IDMs) to count their fluorinated greenhouse gas (FGHG) emissions. As part of this rule IDMs are permitted to either use a default DRE of 60% or measure actual DRE performance of approximately 20% of all FGHG POU abatement devices. IBM chose the latter approach and contracted Matheson to measure DRE performance at their East Fishkill facility. In this work we describe our experiences during DRE testing and present representative results collected over the course of 2011. Measurements were made using a SEMI-S2 certified and fully integrated portable abatement gas analysis system (AGAS) that was specifically designed by Matheson for DRE testing according to EPA Protocol EPA430-R-10-003. Complexities in executing the protocol exist for both the testing company and the IDM, and thus a closely coordinated approach between testers and tool operators is ideal. This coordinated approach should take into account practical considerations for both parties such as tool scheduling, pre-test information exchange, testing facility requirements, availability of communications, calibration of instrumentation, and collection of analytical data. Results from testing 59 abatement units show that all FGHGs except tetrafluoromethane have DREs above 90% and hence the application of a blanket 60% default DRE is considered to be overly conservative.

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