MULTIPLE AIR POLLUTANT EMISSIONS REMOVAL BY THE USE OF A SINGLE CHEMICAL ADDITIVE

AIR POLLUTION CONTROL TECHNOLOGIES FOR NITROGEN OXIDE (NOX) REDUCTION ARE LIMITED BY THE RELATIVELY INERT NATURE OF NITRIC OXIDE (NO). THIS DIFFICULTY CAN BE OVERCOME BY OXIDATION OF NO TO MUCH MORE REACTIVE NITROGEN DIOXIDE (NO2). SINCE FLUE GAS DESULFURIZATION SYSTEMS ARE REQUIRED FOR SULFUR DIOXIDE (SO2) REMOVAL AFTER COMBUSTION OF SULFUR CONTAINING FUELS, AND SINCE IT HAS BEEN PROVEN THAT NO2 CAN BE REMOVED EFFICIENTLY IN SO2 SCRUBBERS, THE CONVERSION OF NO INTO NO2 BECOMES A PROMISING STRATEGY FOR COMBINED NOX AND SULFUR OXIDE (SOX) REMOVAL. A LARGE NUMBER OF WET SCRUBBERS ARE ALREADY INSTALLED IN STATIONARY COMBUSTION SOURCES OR ARE PLANNED FOR THE NEAR FUTURE. THEREFORE, A PROCESS THAT PROMOTES NO REMOVAL SIMPLY THROUGH THE INJECTION OF CHEMICAL ADDITIVES INTO COMBUSTION GASES COULD HAVE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON AIR POLLUTION CONTROL STRATEGIES. PHASE I WILL DEVELO A NOVEL CONCEPT: GAS PHASE MULTIPLE AIR POLLUTANT EMISSION REMOVAL BY INJECTION OF A SINGLE CHEMICAL ADDITIVE INTO COMBUSTION GASES AT HIGH TEMPERATURES. CHEMICAL KINETICS CALCULATIONS AND EXPERIMENTAL DATA AVAILABLE FROM THE LITERATURE PREDICT THAT AN ADDITIVE EXISTS WHICH, UPON BEING INJECTED INTO COMBUSTION GASES AT SPECIFIC CONDITIONS, CAN EFFICIENTLY CONVERT ALL MAJOR GASEOUS AIR POLLUTANTS TO NO2, AND CARBON DIOXIDE (CO2): UNREACTIVE NO, UNBURNED CARBON MONOXIDE (CO), CORROSIVE SULFUR TRIOXIDE (SO3), BYPRODUCTS. NO2 AND SO2 CAN BE EFFICIENTLY SCRUBBED IN A SLIGHTLY MODIFIED CALCIUM-BASED SO2 SCRUBBER. PHASE I WILL PROVIDE A LABORATORY-SCALE FEASIBILITY DEMONSTRATION OF THE CRITICAL STEPS OF THE PROCESS: THE CONVERSION OF NO TO NO2, SO3 TO SO2, AND CO TO CO2 IN THE GAS PHASE WITHIN REACTION TIMES, TEMPERATURES, AND OTHER CONDITIONS WHICH ARE IN THE PRACTICAL RANGE FOR APPLICATION IN BOILERS AND FURNACES.