Controlling NOx emission from industrial sources

Abstract

A number of regulatory actions focused on reducing NOx emissions from stationary combustion sources have been taken in the United States in the last decade. These actions include the Acid Rain NOx regulations, the Ozone Transport Commission's NOx Budget Program, and the NOx SIP Call rulemakings. In addition to these regulations, the recent Interstate Air Quality Rulemaking proposal and other bills in the Congress are focusing on additional reductions of NOx. Industrial combustion sources accounted for about 18016 of NOx emissions in the United States in 2000 and constituted the second largest emitting source category within stationary sources, only behind electric utility sources. Based on these data, reduction of NOx emissions from industrial combustion sources is an important consideration in efforts undertaken to address the environmental concerns associated with NOx. This paper discusses primary and secondary NOx control technologies applicable to various major categories of industrial sources. The sources considered in this paper include large boilers, furnaces and fired heaters, combustion turbines, large IC engines, and cement kilns. For each source category considered in this paper, primary NOx controls are discussed first, followed by a discussion of secondary NOx controls.