TA Luft (Technical Instructions on Air Quality Control) is the central, nationally uniform set of regulations for the prevention and control of plant-related emissions in Germany. It sets strict limits for various air pollutants and ensures that industrial operations meet modern environmental standards for sustainability and public health. The most recent amendment, effective December 1, 2021, introduced several significant changes to improve air quality control and align with EU regulations, making it a benchmark for environmental performance worldwide.

Relevance of TA Luft for industry in Germany

As an ad­min­is­tra­tive reg­u­la­tion, TA Luft con­cretizes the legal re­quire­ments of the Federal Im­mis­sion Control Act (BImSchG), which in turn trans­poses the European re­quire­ments of the In­dus­trial Emis­sions Di­rec­tive (2010/75 IED) into German law.

TA Luft thus serves as a basis for the approval and mon­i­tor­ing au­thor­i­ties for the as­sess­ment of in­dus­trial plants that require a con­struc­tion and op­er­a­tion permit ac­cord­ing to Annex 1 of the BImSchG and are subject to regular mon­i­tor­ing.

The Or­di­nance there­fore has a direct impact on the au­tho­riza­tion pro­ce­dures for new in­stal­la­tions and for existing in­stal­la­tions that are to be expanded, mod­ern­ized or modified. In addition, existing in­stal­la­tions may be subject to sub­se­quent op­er­at­ing orders if they no longer meet the new re­quire­ments. The reg­u­la­tions cur­rently apply to more than 50,000 in­stal­la­tions in Germany.

Major changes in TA Luft 2021 include

• Expanded scope to include additional types of installations
• New and more stringent limits for various air pollutants
• Stricter emission limits
• New requirements to limit odors
• Consideration of best available techniques (BAT) and adaptation of previous standards
• Adaptation of test methods

Central TA Luft requirement: Use of Best Available Techniques

TA Luft reflects the "state of the art", which means that emission control re­quire­ments should reflect the latest sci­en­tific and tech­ni­cal advances. This is based on the best avail­able tech­niques (BAT, also: best avail­able tech­nol­ogy) es­tab­lished by the European Union for the relevant in­dus­trial sector, which are de­scribed in BAT ref­er­ence doc­u­ments or BAT con­clu­sions. In addition, it in­cor­po­rates more than 100 tech­ni­cal rules and stan­dards de­vel­oped by the VDI/DIN Com­mis­sion on Air Pol­lu­tion Control.

The updated TA Luft requires op­er­a­tors of existing plants in Germany to upgrade their fa­cil­i­ties to the best avail­able tech­nol­ogy (or en­vi­ron­men­tally equiv­a­lent tech­niques). While com­pli­ance may involve sig­nif­i­cant up-front costs for industry, the long-term benefits include reduced legal risks and improved op­er­a­tional ef­fi­ciency. The general tran­si­tion period of 4 years from the pub­li­ca­tion of the BAT con­clu­sions allows com­pa­nies to adapt their in­stal­la­tions grad­u­ally.

Planning to build, expand, modernize, or retrofit an industrial installation to meet high emissions standards?

The basis of any ef­fec­tive sealing concept is the correct se­lec­tion and design of a seal for its intended ap­pli­ca­tion and use. Proper in­stal­la­tion, op­er­a­tion, main­te­nance and service are key to long life. Well thought-out seal man­age­ment helps to save costs and reduce the need for training.

EagleBurgmann offers not only superior sealing tech­nol­ogy for vir­tu­ally any in­dus­trial ap­pli­ca­tion, but also cus­tomized service and support. Our prac­ti­cal knowl­edge transfer programs enhance the skills of your em­ploy­ees in their daily work.

Our sales en­gi­neers will be happy to go into detail with you and discuss the specific re­quire­ments and options.

Looking for TA-Luft compliant sealing technology?
Take advantage of what we have to offer.

• Large range of largely standardized products in modular design, as well as functional enhancements, that enable sealing solutions for every customer-specific requirement.
• Engineered solutions for your specific needs.
• Technical support from EagleBurgmann sealing experts.
• Our services also include optimized spare parts inventory and logistics.
• EagleBurgmann ExpressCenter for emergency repairs.
• Training and courses on sealing technology, maintenance and repair through the EagleBurgmann Academy.
• Customized in-house training courses available on site.
• EagleBurgmann is a partner to many international OEMs.