Nitrogen oxides emissions reduction technologies in the petrochemical and refining industries

Abstract

In the petrochemical and refining industries, increasingly stringent regulatory requirements have prompted the development and use of new technologies to minimize nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions from fired process heaters. Stricter regulations and an increasingly competitive market present significant challenges for petrochemical and refining plants in meeting NOx emissions regulations. The capability of a chosen technology to meet the desired NOx emissions requirements is fundamental to the selection process. Additional factors to consider when evaluating these new technologies include capital and operating costs, downtime, increased complexity of operation and maintenance, safety, and the effects on process heater variables. This paper considers the problem of economically meeting stricter emissions regulations, presents a general discussion of potential options to meet those requirements, compares the advantages and disadvantages of each with respect to the previously mentioned factors, and presents a case study showing the implementation of a new low NOx burner design which proved much more cost effective and retrofittable than the implementation of a catalytic posttreatment control strategy in a refinery. © 2004 American Institute of Chemical Engineers.