Selective non-catalytic reduction process
Selective catalytic reduction (SCR) or selective non-catalytic reduction (SNCR) can be employed to reduce the levels of nitrogen oxides (NOx) present in the flue gas. The SNCR process, developed by Martin GmbH of Germany, reduces NOx produced during combustion to nitrogen and water by injecting aqueous ammonia (NH4OH), a reducing agent, into the furnace. NOx values of up to 70 mg/Nm3 have been achieved using this process.


The agent is injected in the temperature range of 850ºC to 1050ºC. A second mass flow is required to get a uniformly fine distribution. Both softened fresh water and compressed air may be used for this purpose in the system. The two mass flows are combined in a mixing chamber directly up-stream of the nozzle head. This arrangement ensures low dead times for control of the aqueous ammonia mass flow, as well as optimized consumption and low aqueous ammonia slip in the flue gas. The control system ensures that injection always takes place in the optimum temperature range as a function of the current furnace temperature.


Contact: Martin GmbH für Umwelt und Energietechnik, Leopoldstraße 248, D-80807 München, Germany. Tel: +49 (89) 35617-0; Fax: +49 (89) 35617-299


E-mail: mail@martingmbh.de


Source: www.martingmbh.de
Multi-pollutant treatment technology
EMx®, from EmeraChem, the United States, is a multi-pollutant technology that significantly reduces such pollutants as nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulphur oxides, carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds as well as particulate matter for gas-fired turbines to ultra low levels (< 1 ppm for all criteria pollutants). The United States Environmental Protection Agency declared this technology as “the Lowest Achievable Emission Rate” for NOx abatement, establishing the standard against which all future emission reduction means will be measured.


EMx is a continuous process that is designed to achieve the required emission reduction at the maximum NOx flow rate. It does not require a complex feedback control loop, and has additional catalyst capacity, providing for future regulatory certainty. EMx is also claimed to be the most effective ammonia-free reduction technology available today for gas turbine, reciprocating engines and industrial and utility boilers. It avoids the fouling of downstream heat transfer surfaces and guarantees net reduction of particulate matter.


Contact: EmeraChem, 1729 Louisville Dr., Knoxville, Tennessee 37909, United States of America. Tel: +1 (865) 246 3000; Fax: +1 (865) 246 3001.


Source: www.environmental-expert.com
Microwave process for NOx abatement
The CHA Corporation, the United States, has recently completed a small business innovation research programme to investigate the feasibility of using a novel microwave based filter device to remove and destroy unwanted by-products of combustion in exhaust gases. A Corning ceramic monolith soot filter that has about 90 per cent soot removal efficiency was placed in a housing that allowed for microwave regeneration. Two filters were set up in parallel into the exhaust piping of a diesel engine. After 4-hour periods of operation, the filters were successfully regenerated employing microwave energy for more than 50 cycles.


A prototype device for destroying ni-trogen oxides (NOx) in the exhaust gas generated by a diesel engine (58 hp) was constructed and tested. The NOx control device comprised two separate fixed-bed reactors filled with catalyst beads. In the first, a Pt/Pd catalyst was used to convert nitric oxide (NO) into nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in the diesel exhaust. A reducing agent and microwaves were supplied to the second reactor, containing alumina-SiC pellets coated with a Pt/Rh/Pd catalyst, to destroy NO2. As the NO oxidation efficiency (45-55 per cent) is suppressed by the high concentration of water in diesel engine exhaust, NOx destruction efficiencies were only 30-40 per cent, 10-20 per cent lower than the NOx destruction obtained from smaller reactors.


Test results obtained for this prototype microwave deNOx device clearly identified techno-economic advantages, as well as technical difficulties, of applying microwave-based filter devices to control pollutants in diesel exhaust. Preliminary experimental data indicate that the microwave reactor system that was developed for NOx destruction can be also used for destroying waste rocket fuels including hydrazine and unsymmetric dimethylhydrazine in nitrogen or air streams.


Source: www.stormingmedia.us
Selective catalytic reduction package/catalyst
irProtekt Ltd., the United Kingdom, supplies the total selective catalytic reduction (SCR) package or the SCR catalyst for control of nitrogen oxides (NOx) emission. The catalyst technologies used are all tried and backed up by the manufacturing and quality control standards from the largest automobile catalyst manufacturer in the world.


The basic reactions that occur are as follows:
4 NH3 + 4NO + O2 ® 4 N2 + 6 H2O
8 NH3 + 6 NO2 ® 7 N2 + 12 H2O


These reactions break down NOx into harmless nitrogen and water. Urea is used as the reducing agent since it is generally unaffected by the oxygen present in the exhaust gases and is readily available. In most exhaust gases, virtually all of the NOx present is in the form of nitric oxide (NO). The optimum temperature for the reduction of NOx using a zeolite/base-metal catalyst is about 350º-550ºC.


The main advantages of the SCR process are that the catalyst has a long life and provides a high NOX removal rate, and extensive modifications to the engines are avoided. The underlying principle of this type of catalytic process is the use of ‘active’ catalytic sites on which the reactant species are adsorbed. This allows combination of the reactant species at much lower gas temperatures than needed for uncatalysed reactions.


Contact: AirProtekt Ltd., Newton Hall, Newton, Cambridgeshire CB2 5PE, United Kingdom. Tel: +44 (1223) 872 933; Fax: +44 (1223) 872 934


E-mail: enquiries@airprotekt.co.uk


Source: www.environmental-expert.com
A Multi-functional carbon filter process for flue-gas clean-up
Researchers from the University of Wyoming, the United States, have developed and evaluated a multi-functional carbon filter process, or MCFP, for separating carbon dioxide (CO2) and other pollutants, such as NOx, SOx and mercury, of power plant flue-gas.


The cost of the recovered CO2 using a carbon-rich adsorbent at ambient pressure can be reduced by a factor of 2 or more, relative to an amine-absorption benchmark. Such an adsorbent is selective at near-ambient temperatures, easy to keep at constant adsorption temperature, and easy to recover by direct steam heat because its heat of adsorption is very low. Besides, MCFP is relative-ly insensitive to flue-gas moisture, which poses a serious problem for more hydrophilic sorbents such as zeolites. Based on the data from their laboratory experiments, the researchers concluded that MCFP technology can be integrated with a coal power plant for producing an enhanced oil recovery grade CO2.


Source: www.aiche.confex.com 
Regenerative thermal oxidation process
The Biotox® process, from Biothermica Technologies Inc., Canada, is a patented regenerative thermal oxidation (RTO) technology for treating emissions of volatile and condensable organic compounds (VOCs & COCs) and corrosive emissions. In more than 20 installations, it has successfully demonstrated destruction efficiencies of more than 99 per cent and energy efficiencies greater than 90 per cent for flows varying from 2,000 to more than 150,000 actual cubic feet per minute.


The Biotox RTO process consists of oxidizing in a combustion chamber the VOCs and COCs contained in the industrial emissions, and recovering usable heat from combustion gases by means of ceramic beds. The recovered heat can then be used to pre-heat entry gases, thanks to the efficient heat transfer between entry and exit gases.


The typical combustion temperature is 800ºC while the residence time is one second. The combustion gases, mainly composed of water and carbon dioxide (CO2), are then released into the atmosphere. A hot gas recirculating system is installed to raise the COCs to a temperature sufficient for avoiding condensation in the bottom of the beds.


Advantages of the patented Biotox process include:
 
  • Energy recovery rates reaching 95 per cent, along with substantial fuel savings and reductions in greenhouse gas;
     
  • Low emissions of NOx and CO2;
     
  • System adaptable to variations in VOC / COC concentrations; and
     
  • Choice of ceramics to suit specific applications.
     

Contact: Biothermica Technologies Inc., 426 Sherbrooke East, Montreal, Quebec H2L 1J6, Canada. Fax: +1 (514) 488 3125


E-mail: biothermica@biothermica.com


Source: www.environmental-expert.com

Electron beam method for SOx and NOx reduction
Chubu Electric Power Co. of Japan has devised an electron beam process for the simultaneous removal of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and sulphur oxides (SOx) from flue-gas. It is a dry process without the need for any wastewater treatment or expensive denitrification catalyst. The process yields, as a by-product, a valuable fertilizer. A pilot plant of the system, with a flue gas treatment capacity of 12,000 m3N/h, has demonstrated a SOx / NOx removal efficiency of more than 94 per cent and 80 per cent, respectively.


After the floating ash in flue gas is roughly removed in the dry type electrostatic precipitator, the gas flows through the GGH extractor to be cooled to around 110ºC. In the spray cooler, the gas is cooled further to 60º-70ºC, the desirable level of temperature for desulphurization reaction. Then the necessary quantity of ammonia for desulphurization and denitrification is added. The gas then moves into the process vessel, where an electron beam is applied to it. In the process vessel, SOx and NOx are oxidized to become sulphuric acid and nitric acid, respectively, which in turn react with ammonia to produce fine particles of ammonium sulphate and ammonium nitrate.


After the fine particles are collected and separated from the flue gas in the dry type electrostatic precipitator and bag filter, the purified gas is discharged to the atmosphere by the booster fan through the stack. The test results from the pilot plant have proved that the system fully satisfies the requirements for flue gas treatment in coal-fired power stations.


Source: www.gec.jp
Ceramic filters
Ceramic filters from Caldo Environmental Engineering Limited, United Kingdom, are high-temperature devices for the continuous removal of particulates from air or other gases. Caldo supplies a range of filter sizes and employs a modular approach for larger gas flows. The addition of sorbent powder enables the filters to function as dry scrubbers in waste gas applications.


The ceramic filter element is vacuum-formed using alumino-silicate ceramic fibres as a 1,000 mm long tube, flanged at one end and closed at the other. It is stable even under extreme conditions of temperature (up to 900ºC) and chemical corrosion (except hydrofluoric acid). The elements hang vertically in the filter vessel from the header plate. In use the hot gas is sucked through the filter medium from outside to inside, depositing the particles on the outer surface of the medium. At controllable intervals a sharp pulse of air is blown back down the inside of the filter element to detach the solids accumulated on the outer surface of the filter elements. The number of filter elements in the filter vessel determines the capacity of the filter. Caldo has standard designs for 64, 120, 214 and 256 element filters.


Acid gases – a common gas-phase pollutant – can be very effectively removed by the addition of lime or sodium bicarbonate to the gas upstream of the ceramic filter. Both chemicals react well with HCl, HF and H2SO4 and remove a proportion of any NOx that is present.
Ceramic filters are useful on nearly all high-temperature processes in which the exhaust gas may contain smoke, fume or dust. Typical applications include:
 
  • Incineration of wastes;
     
  • Cleaning of fuel gases from pyrolysis or gasification processes;
     
  • Protection of catalysts in chemical processes;
     
  • Cleaning of gases from metallurgical furnaces; and
     
  • Collection of products manufactured through condensation of hot gases.
     

Contact: Caldo Environmental Engineering Limited, No.1 Worcester Court, Saxon Business Park, Hanbury Road, Bromsgrove Worcestershire B60 4AD, United Kingdom.


Source: www.environmental-expert.com

Managing Healthcare Waste – A Practical Approach
“Managing Healthcare Waste – A Practical Approach” is a must-read for those interested in infection control and management of medical wastes. The book offers a detailed overview of technical elements in health care waste management system, based on the life cycle approach.


Contact: KW Publishers Pvt. Limited, 5A/4A, Ansari Road, Daryaganj, New Delhi 110002, India. Tel: +91 (11) 2326 3498; Fax: +91 (11) 2326 3498


E-mail: knowledgeworld@vsnl.net