Pollutant emissions reduction in industrial gas-fired applications By Bernard Blez,
For many industrial production processes,
Philippe Buchet,
natural gas is the premier choice to provide
gas does not only produce less CO2 when
Anne Giese, Klaus
process heat in an efficient and environmentally
burned but also significantly lower emissions of
Görner, Jörg Leicher
friendly manner. A globally abundant supply,
other major pollutants such as nitrogen oxides
and Mathieu Ourliac
the lowest carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of all
(NOX), sulphur oxides (SOX) or fine particulate
fossil fuels and good controllability, resulting in
matter than with other fossil fuels.
high efficiencies and excellent product quality,
x Figure
1.
From an environmental perspective, natural
Industrial gas utilisation is characterised by
are just some reasons why natural gas is used
a high degree of specialisation. Combustion
for many production processes across many
processes in various industries are often radi
different industries.
cally different from one another with regards to temperature levels, burner technologies and many other factors. Basically, each thermal
Peta Joules (PJ)
Industrial primary energy sources
processing plant is unique. This article reviews some technological developments in the fields
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of burner and process technologies to show how different thermal processing industries have successfully reduced their ecological
2000
footprint using natural gas and to highlight current developments to achieve even further
1500
emissions reductions. Introduction
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In 2014, industrial utilisation accounted for 31% of the total consumption of natural gas in
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the European Union, an increase of 0.7% when compared to 2013. Power generation accounted for a further 22.6%. After residential and com
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an Iro d n N pe an on tr d N on -fe och ste -m rr e el Tr e ou mi an ta s m ca sp llic e l or m ta t e in ls M qu era in ip ls in g M m an ac en Pa F o d h t W pe od qu ine oo r p a ar ry d ul nd ry an p t in d an ob g d a w oo pr cco i d nt p i Te Co ro ng d N x on ti ns uc -s le a tru ts pe n c ci d tio fie le n d ath in e du r st ry
0
Combustible renewables and waste Coal and coal products Petroleum products
Natural gas Electricity Heat
mercial utilisation, the industrial sector is the second-largest gas consumer in the EU. It is safe to assume that the situation is similar in many other highly industrialised regions around the world. Figure 1 shows the main primary energy sources for various industries in the EU and some other regions in 2003. While there are an estimated 167 million domestic gas-fired appliances in the EU, the number of installed industrial gas applications is much lower. The firing rate of a given piece
76 P o l l u t a n t e m i s s i o n s r e d u c t i o n i n i n d u s t r i a l g a s - f i r e d a p p l i c a t i o n s
