Role of gas analysis in clean air strategies to reduce emissions
Gas analysis plays an essential role in cleaner plant and refinery operations, and will also be crucial to the production of current and future cleaner energy sources
Matt Halsey Servomex
R educing carbon emissions to the atmosphere is an area of growing importance for industrial plant operators. The raised sensitivity towards this issue has been led in part by the introduction of increasingly stringent environmental regulations. International action to reduce the impact on climate, including the 2016 Paris Agreement, has intensified awareness of the effect of greenhouse gases, driving operators to reduce emissions and find more ecologically responsible ways of operating. Gas analysis provides an effective solution for these efforts, not only by supporting measurement of harmful emissions, but also by improving efficiency to ensure fewer emissions are generated in the first place. Servomex, the global expert in gas analysis, has developed a strategy for clean air that is based around three main process areas: combustion efficiency, gas clean-up (including carbon capture processes), and emissions monitoring. Combining solutions for these three areas supports operator goals to deliver cleaner processes, also optimising these processes to reduce fuel consumption and deliver higher production yields. Combustion control solutions Combustion reactions mix fuel with oxygen (from air) in a fired heater to generate heat energy for a process. They typically need a significant amount of fuel, create potential safety hazards, and generate harmful emissions including carbon dioxide (CO 2 ). Running fired heaters with high excess air
Fuel rich
Air rich
NOx
CO, combustibles and soot
EFFICIENCY
IDEAL
O
-3
0
3
6
% Excess oxygen
– which was the case prior to gas analyser technology – avoids creating unsafe conditions that could lead to an explosion, but is highly inefficient, increasing fuel consumption. Excess oxygen (O 2 ) also combines with nitrogen and sulphur in the fuel to produce unwanted emissions such as oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and sulphur (SOx). Accurate gas analysis of O 2 and combustibles such as carbon monoxide (CO) helps to optimise the ratio between the air and fuel and creates a more efficient reaction. Controlling combustion in this way benefits plants looking to meet environmental standards requirements. Fuel consumption is reduced, resulting in fewer emissions, a reduction in NOx, SOx and CO, and a decrease in CO 2 . Zirconia-based sensing technology is long established as a solution for O 2 monitoring in combustion, with reliable, accurate results Example gas fired process, actual excess oxygen levels will vary with heater size, fuel, loading and ambient conditions
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