Enhanced Selective Non-Catalytic Reduction (SNCR) for Refinery Applications: Pilot-Scale Test Data With a Hydrogen Promoter

Selective non-catalytic reduction technology (SNCR) is an effective and economical method of reducing NOX emissions for a wide range of industrial combustion systems. It is widely known that the traditional SNCR temperature window is centered around 1,200 to 1,255 K [1]. However, for some applications, the flue gas temperatures in boilers, oxidizers, and heaters range from 950 to 1150 K. At these lower temperatures, injection of an amine reagent into flue gas no longer actively reduces NOX, but instead passes through the system and exits as ammonia slip. Earlier studies have shown that at lower temperatures, hydrogen and other promoters can be added to the system to shift the SNCR window to a lower temperature range, enhancing or promoting SNCR NOX reduction performance [2–5]. This extended abstract describes pilot-scale test results for an enhanced SNCR process (ESNCR) that uses hydrogen as the SNCR promoter. The impacts of flue gas temperature, hydrogen concentration, CO concentration, and SO2 concentration on ESNCR NOX reduction performance are presented.