Pollution Control

Combustion is a unique phenomenon in that it is used to control pollution and it is, at the same time, a source of pollution. The high temperature of combustion can be used in the incineration of toxic, polluting wastes. Chemical reactions during all combustion processes, however, produce pollutants such as nitrous oxide (NOx) and sulfur oxides (SOx). Fortunately, combustion can be controlled to mitigate its pollution forming character and to enhance its ability to destroy wastes. The papers presented on the subject of Pollution Control dealt with NOx reduction and toxic waste combustion. A high temperature low NOx burner which uses oxygen enriched air has been developed by Union Carbide. The NOx reduction ability of this burner has been demonstrated in industrial field tests in a steel reheat furnace. At John Zink Company, a low NOx burner has been developed for refinery process heaters. A fuel staging technique is employed in this burner to suppress NOx formation. Four Nines Incorporated has designed burners that can incinerate waste liquid fuels. These fuels, which are usually toxic wastes, such as chlorinated hydrocarbons, have been reported to be successfully oxidized to harmless combustion products by these burners. In all, these papers provide a good overview of the state-of-the-art of combustion-generated air pollution control in three important industrial applications.