Reinhold Environmental Ltd. 2008 NOx-Combustion Round Table & Expo Presentation February 4-5, 2008 in Richmond, VA
Reinhold Environmental NO x Round table & Expo WPCA SCR Training Richmond, VA February 5, 2008 Ceramic s SCR Catalyst Selection & Design Ken Jeffers
Quick Review of SCR Basics Flue Gas: NOx, O2, SO2 SCR = Selective Catalytic Reduction Purpose is to reduce NO x (NO & NO 2 ) from combustion exhaust NH 3 Ammonia (NH 3 ) is injected into flue gas as reducing agent. Flue gas passes through catalyst layers installed in a reactor NH 3 reacts with NO x on the catalyst surface to form nitrogen and water vapor 4NO + 4NH 3 + O 2 Catalyst 4N 2 + 6H 2 O N2, H2O, O2, SO2(SO3) 2NO 2 + 4NH 3 + O 2 Catalyst 3N 2 + 6H 2 O 2
How SCR Works Catalyst has porous structure = lots of surface area Gas phase 1 External diffusion of NH 3 to catalyst surface 3 5 2 1 4 6 7 Catalyst surface 2 3 4 Internal diffusion of NH 3 into the catalyst pore NH 3 adsorption on the active centers NO diffusion from gas phase to adsorbed NH 3 5 Reaction of NO and NH 3 to N 2 and H 2 O 6 Desorption from N 2 and H 2 O to catalyst surface Catalyst 7 Diffusion of N 2 and H 2 O into gas phase 3
SCR Applications Waste Incineration Plants Power Plants Gas Turbines Heavy Duty Vehicles NOx Control Marine Engines Greenhouses Wood-Fired Boilers Stationary Engines GEN SETS 4
SCR Configuration in Power Plants Boiler SCR Reactor with Catalyst FGD High Dust SCR upstream of air preheater and ESP Catalyst with higher pitch required Air Preheater ESP Hot-Side ESP Low Dust SCR between ESP and air preheater Catalyst with lower pitch can be suitable Flue Gas Reheat Tail End Air Preheater Mostly in Europe, none in US(?) SCR at the end after air preheater Flue gas reheating required 5
Geometry Selection: Plate-Type Catalyst Composition Stainless steel carrier, ceramic material rolled on TiO 2, V-oxide/W-oxide/ Mo-oxide as the active catalytic material Variable plate-spacing: 60 to 100 plates per element box Variable plate height: 450 to 700 mm Advantages Most suitable for high dust configurations Thermal and mechanical resistance Low pressure loss Low SO 2 /SO 3 conversion rate 6
Geometry Selection: Honeycomb Catalyst Composition Homogeneously extruded ceramic TiO 2, V-oxide and W-oxide as the active catalytic material Variable monolith height: 250 mm 1000 mm 10 to 100 cells per square inch (cpsi) Advantages Most suitable for low/no dust applications Operating temperature range: 340 F - 800 F High active surface area per unit volume 7
Geometry: Structure & Pitch Pitch = center to center distance from one plate/wall to the next pitch pitch Plate-Type Structure Flexible plates Rectangular Openings Pitch: 5 mm to 7 mm Honeycomb Structure Rigid structure Square openings Pitch: 3 mm to 8 mm 8
Pitch Selection vs Dust Load 7 Catalyst Type High Dust Low Dust Plate 5 mm 7 mm <5 mm 6 Honeycomb 8 mm 4 mm 5 mm Pitch, mm 5 4 0 10 20 30 40 50 Dust Load, g/m 3 9
Geometry Selection: Module Structure Catalyst elements arranged in steel-frame modules Standardized cross-section Module height can vary as required Possible to interchange catalyst types within reactor Modules can be customized to customer requirements 10
Catalyst Design Approach Starting Point New SCR reactor vs existing SCR reactor Initial catalyst charge or reload SCR reactor layout - # of layers, # of modules per layer SCR configuration high dust / low dust Desired operating period, 16000/24000 hrs Understand performance requirements DeNOx, amount of NO x to reduce, 70-90% SO 2 oxidation allowed, <0.5% per catalyst layer NH 3 slip allowed, 2 ppm standard (5 ppm for low S fuel) Pressure drop limitations, 0.5-1.0 WC Determine catalyst activity required at end of operating period (EOL) Specify appropriate catalyst to do the job: Volume, element height, pitch 11
Details of the Design Process How to get k η NO x = ƒ {k NO x (EOL), area velocity (AV), NH 3 /NO x ratio (α)} Calculate maximum AV (gas flow per total active surface area) Select pitch sets the catalyst specific area, A spec = area/volume Determine required volume Adjust volume as necessary to fit the application Determine SO 2 oxidation rate, pressure drop Volcat = VFG AV*Aspec 12
knox of Fresh Catalyst, k0 k 0 depends on Temperature Composition of active, catalytic material V 2 O 5 H 2 O, O 2, flue gas flow rate k 0 data and correction factors are obtained from controlled experiments 13
knox Influence of Temperature and V2O5 Catalyst Activity vs Temperature knox, m/h NH 3 + O 2 NO x (Side reaction at higher T) 450 500 550 600 650 700 750 800 850 Temperature, F High V2O5 Med V2O5 Low V2O5 14
knox Influence of Water and O2 0 5 10 15 20 25 H 2 O, Vol % 15 Catalyst Activity Catalyst Activity 0 5 O 10 15 2, Vol %
T, V 2 O 5, H 2 O, O 2, flow rate k 0 Catalyst deactivates over time k t? 16
Catalyst Deactivation Mechanisms Masking: Macroscopic blockage of catalyst surface by cemented fly ash Cemented Fly Ash Catalyst Surface Pore System Plugging: Microsopic blockage of pore system by small fly ash particles Catalyst Surface Pore System Small Fly Ash Particles Poisoning: Deactivation of active sites by chemical attack Catalyst Surface Pore Active Sites System 17
Catalyst Poisons Alkali metals Na, K Alkaline earth metals Ca Arsenic vapor phase As 2 O 3 Phosphorus P 2 O 5 18
knox Deactivation Model Relative Activity, kt/k0 k t /k 0 k t /k 0 decreases exponentially with time Relative Activity 1.0 k t /k 0 = e -λt λ increasing Proportionality constant, λ Characteristic of SCR configuration, fuel, deactivation mechanisms. Obtained from catalyst activity testing Application time, hr k t /k 0 Operating Time, hr Low dust config Bituminous firing 16000 16000 0.85 0.70 PRB firing 16000 0.65 Lignite firing 16000 0.50 19
T, V 2 O 5, H 2 O, O 2, flow rate k 0 k 0 Deactivation Model k t=eol 20
SO2 to SO3 Oxidation, ksox Undesired side reaction in SCR catalyst 2SO 2 + O 2 2SO 3 Occurs in the bulk of catalyst material (in the walls) k SO x depends on V 2 O 5 and Temperature Blue Plume is a result of SO 3 /H 2 SO 4 SO 3 reacts with NH 3 to form ammonium bisulfate (ABS) and ammonium sulfate (AS) NH 3 + SO 3 + H 2 O NH 4 HSO 4 (ABS) NH 4 HSO 4 + NH 3 (NH 4 ) 2 SO 4 (AS) 2NH 3 + SO 3 + H 2 O (NH 4 ) 2 SO 4 (AS) AS is dry, powdery compound that can pass through SCR catalyst ABS is sticky, viscous compound that can plug catalyst and corrode downstream equipment example: air preheater 21
SO2 Oxidation Influence of V2O5 5 Relative Activity Relative Oxidation Rate 5 4 4 3 k NOx 3 2 k SOx 2 1 1 0 0 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 V 2 O 5 content [wt-%] 22
SO2 Oxidation Influence of Temperature ksox V2O5 = 1.2% V2O5 = 0.6% 500 600 700 800 Temperature, F 23
Minimum Operating Temperature, MOT (Tmin) Minimum temperature for continuous SCR operation Of particular concern for low load operation and firing fuels containing sulfur Operating above Tmin prevents AS/ABS formation Tmin depends on SO 2 /SO 3, NH 3, H 2 O in flue gas Must stop NH 3 when operating below Tmin Tmin (F) 625 600 575 550 Tmin vs SO 3 inlet NOx in 250 ppm, 88% DeNOx, NH 3 Slip 2 ppm 12% H2O 10% H2O 8% H2O 525 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 SO 3 inlet (ppm wet) 24
Catalyst Design is an Iterative Process Design Inputs DeNOx criteria - % of NOx to remove Operating period 16,000/24,000 hr Flue gas flow conditions Flow rate Temperature Pressure Composition (NOx inlet, O2, H2O, SO2/SO3) Allowable NH3 slip Catalyst geometry/composition Considerations Reactor configuration/space, flow distribution Coal type/specs, ash load Catalyst deactivation SO2 to SO3 oxidation Allowable pressure drop Design Outputs Catalyst volume Catalyst activity SO2 to SO3 oxidation rate Pressure drop Design margin (safety factor) 25
Catalyst Management Plan (CMP) 140 2+1 layer example: initial load 2 layers, L3 empty 12 120 10 Activity Potential kt/k0 [%] 100 80 60 Minimum potential to meet DeNOx, NH 3 slip requirements Add L3 Replace L1 Replace L2 Replace L3 8 6 4 NH3 Slip [ppmv] 40 2 20 0 0 20000 40000 60000 80000 100000 120000 Operating Time [h] 26
Reinhold Environmental NO x Round table & Expo WPCA SCR Training Richmond, VA February 5, 2008 Ceramic s Thank You Ken Jeffers