Design Considerations for Selective Catalyst Reduction (SCR) of NOx in Ethylene Furnaces

New opportunities resulting from the reduced cost of natural gas and its co-products have led to a major expansion of the ethylene production industry. This growth has occurred contemporaneously with a renewed legislative focus on fired equipment emissions, making selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NOx an important consideration in modern ethylene furnace design. The most important factors when planning an SCR installation are the process and mechanical design; operability; and maintainability of the SCR system. EnviroKinetics has leveraged its considerable emissions control expertise in the power generation, process, and refining industries to identify critical design choices for ethylene furnaces SCR systems, including the ammonia injection grid location, catalyst operating temperature, and catalyst support and sealing mechanism. Lessons learned from experiences on similar systems have been also been applied to ensure proper planning for ease of operation and, if necessary, troubleshooting.