ptq

Q3 2009

petroleum technology quarterly

refining
gas processing
petrochemicals

special features
rotating equipment
instrumentation & control

cover and spine.indd 1 15/6/09 17:48:30

 Ambient conditions impact CO and NOx
emissions: part II
Effects of air temperature and humidity on burner NOx emissions are discussed,
including considerations for factoring in these effects

Wesley R Bussman and Charles E Baukal Jr, John Zink Co LLC

T The presence of
he effect of ambient air mechanism in most gas-fired
temperature and humidity on combustion processes that burn clean
NOx emissions from gasoline- water vapour in fuels. High temperature zones within
and diesel-fuelled combustion engines the flame cause nitrogen molecules in
has been known for many years. A the combustion the air to separate, allowing them to
method for correcting the NOx for air combine with oxygen, which leads to
temperature and humidity can be found air appears to the formation of NOx. The amount of
in the US Code of Federal Regulations.1 thermal NOx formed depends largely
The effect of air temperature and
reduce the effective on the temperature of the flame and
humidity on burner NOx emissions has temperature of the residence time — the higher the flame
also been recognised for many years in temperature and the longer the
the petrochemical and hydrocarbon flame, resulting in residence time, the more NOx
industries. However, a general method production.
for making these corrections has not lower NOx emissions Water vapour in the combustion air
been reported. Perhaps this is due, in tends to act as ballast to absorb heat
part, to the wide variety of burner from the flame, lowering the
and heater designs and operating referred to as thermal NOx.3 Thermal temperature and reducing thermal
conditions. Part I of this two-part NOx is produced by the reaction of NOx. Figure 1 shows the theoretical
article, published in the Q2 2009 issue atmospheric oxygen and nitrogen at effects of combustion air humidity on
of PTQ, showed how ambient air elevated temperatures, and is the adiabatic flame temperature firing
conditions impact NOx and CO considered to be the dominant methane with 2% excess O2. The red
emissions from process heaters. Part II
addresses the significance of ambient
air temperature and humidity on burner

NOx emissions.

Air humidity effects 0lb flue gas/lb fuel
Historical data shows that industrial 
!DIABATICFLAMETEMPERATURE²&

burners emit lower NOx when the air

humidity is higher and is clearly stated 
in API 535,2 as follows: “Some research &IRINGMETHANE
EXCESS/
(though not duplicated by others) has 
!IRTEMPERATURE²&
noted a tendency on NOx concentrations &LUEGASTEMPERATURE²&
to decline as moisture in the combustion 

air increases. This change is theorized

to occur by the following mechanisms:  10lb flue gas/lb fuel
(a) the inert water in the air reduces the

flame temperature, etc”
API 535 suggests that the presence of 
water vapour in the combustion air       
appears to reduce the effective (UMIDITYGRAINSLBDRYAIR

temperature of the flame, resulting in

lower NOx emissions. This mechanism Figure 1 Theoretical results showing the effects of humidity on the adiabatic flame
of NOx production is attributed to a temperature firing methane with 2% excess O2 dry volume as a function of recycle ratio
distinct chemical kinetic process (0 or 10 lb flue gas/lb fuel)

www.eptq.com PTQ Q3 2009 37

 an increase in air humidity as a high
NOx burner would.
 Figure 2 demonstrates the effects of
-ODELINPUT
s &UELCOMPOSITIONnMETHANE air humidity on NOx emissions for two

s &LUEGASTEMPERATURE²& burner styles. The circular symbols
s !IRTEMPERATURE²&
represent data from a large industrial
heater full of premix, radiant wall
./XNORMALISEDTOZEROHUMIDITY


burners (data for both high and low
NOx burners).5 The triangular symbols
 &IELDDATAn,OW./XPREMIXRADIANTWALLBURNERS represent experimental data firing a
&IELDDATAn(IGH./XPREMIXRADIANTWALLBURNERS single, diffusion-style wall burner. All
4ESTDATAn7ALL FIREDDIFFUSIONBURNER
 4HEORYn:EROPOUNDSOFFLUEGASPERPOUNDOFFUELAT/
of the data are normalised to a NOx
4HEORYnPOUNDSOFFLUEGASPERPOUNDOFFUELAT/ value corresponding to zero humidity.
4HEORYn:EROPOUNDSOFFLUEGASPERPOUNDOFFUELAT/ The NOx value, at zero humidity, is
 %XPONENTIALFITTHROUGHFIELDDATA
%XPONENTIALFITTHROUGHFIELDDATA obtained by extrapolating a best-fit
%XPONENTIALFITTHROUGHTESTDATA exponential curve through the

       
experimental data. Experimental data
(UMIDITYGRAINSLBDRYAIR clearly show that for both the premix
and diffusion-style burners, NOx
decreases with an increase in air
Figure 2 Experimental data and model results showing the effects of air humidity on humidity. For example, a variation in
NOx emissions air humidity from 0 to 120 grains
corresponds to a 45% change in NOx for
line denotes zero flue gas mixed with burner. Again, notice that an increase in the high NOx burner (red symbols). As
the fuel prior to combustion, which is humidity corresponds to a reduction in previously discussed, this represents
representative of a high NOx burner. As flame temperature. For this case, the a change in the theoretical flame
the humidity of the combustion air flame temperature decreases by temperature of only about 2.3%.
increases, the temperature of the flame approximately 1.7% when the humidity The data also show the percentage
decreases. For example, the temperature increases from 0 to 120 grains. These NOx reduction is more pronounced
of the flame decreases by approximately results suggest that the effect of air for the high NOx burner than the
2.3% when the humidity increases from humidity on flame temperature is less low NOx burner. Based on theoretical
0 to 120 grains. Although the change in sensitive when more flue gas is mixed results previously discussed, the
flame temperature is small, it can have with the fuel prior to combustion. This flame temperature from a low NOx
a significant impact on the thermal NOx occurs because the flue gas also acts as a burner is less sensitive to variations in
production. The figure also shows the ballast to absorb heat from the flame, air humidity and, hence, changes in
effects of humidity when 10lb (4.5kg) of which reduces the effects of water NOx.
recycled flue gas are mixed with 1lb vapour.4 Based on these results, it is Figure 2 also shows results of a
(0.5kg) of fuel prior to combustion, expected that a low NOx burner will not simplified thermal NOx model.
which is representative of a low NOx see as a dramatic reduction in NOx with Assuming NOx production is
dominated by the thermal mechanism,
the ratio of NOx production with zero
air humidity to that at a given humidity
can be written as follows:
2ATIOOF./XATNEWCONDITIONTOBASELINECONDITION



χNO, at zero RH T at given RH exp(38 370/Tat given RH – 38 370/Tat zero RH)

 χNO, at given RH =T at zero RH
(1)


where χNO, at zero RH and χNO, at given RH is
the NOx, in terms of parts per million,
 at zero air humidity and at a given
humidity, respectively, while terms
 Tat zero RH and Tat given RH represent the
adiabatic flame temperature at zero
air humidity and at a given humidity,

         respectively. Model results displayed
#OMBUSTIONAIRTEMPERATURE²& in Figure 2 are based on firing methane
with an ambient air temperature of
90°F (32°C) and a flue gas temperature
Figure 3 Effects of combustion air temperature on NOx emissions (from API 535) of 2000°F (1100°C). The model results

38 PTQ Q3 2009 www.eptq.com

 Combustion air control
Part I of this two-part article showed
that ambient conditions can significantly
impact NOx and CO emissions. Tight
control of burner operating conditions is
essential to minimise these emissions.
This can be done in two ways:
manual or automatic control. Manual
control means operators must
frequently adjust dampers (air
registers) on every burner as ambient
conditions change. It is not enough to
adjust only some of the burners to
achieve the target O2 level. While this
could be done, the flames would
not be uniform, which could lead to
multiple operational problems such
as uneven heating and flame
Figure 4 Control motor on each burner impingement on process tubes. Some
heaters may have dozens of burners and
show that as the humidity increases, “NOx production is favored by high each operator is normally responsible
NOx decreases, as expected. The model temperatures. Local flame temperatures for multiple heaters. Since they already
predicts that as the excess O2 increases, and NOx concentration will increase as have many other responsibilities, this is
the NOx becomes more sensitive to the the temperature of the combustion air not a practical option for most plants.
air humidity. The model also shows increases.” The other method is automatic control
that NOx becomes more sensitive to Figure 3 is a plot from API 535, where the excess O2 is continuously
air humidity as less flue gas is mixed showing the effects of air preheat adjusted to a target level. The two ways
with the fuel prior to combustion. temperature on NOx production. The this is commonly done are using a
In other words, the model captures broad range in data may be due to control motor on each burner (Figure 4)
the trend, showing that NOx emissions various types of burners operating at or with some type of mechanical linkage
from high NOx burners are more different fuel compositions, furnace connecting multiple burners to a single
sensitive to air humidity than low temperatures, excess O2 and so on. control motor (Figure 5). The motors
NOx burners. Notice the plot does not give may be electrically or pneumatically
information on how the NOx varies for actuated. Quick disconnects are
Air temperature effects ambient air temperature range from normally included so individual
Historical data show that industrial about 32–110°F (0–43°C). More data burners can be quickly and easily
burners emit more NOx when the need to be gathered to address manually controlled or taken out of
combustion air temperature is ambient temperature effects on NOx service if necessary.
higher and is recognised in API 535:2 production. Automatic controls permit lower
excess O2 levels, because less allowance
is needed for varying conditions. Lower
excess O2 means increased energy
efficiency and reduced NOx. While
there is an additional cost for the
automatic controls, the payback on
larger heaters is often very fast because
of the significant fuel savings.

Conclusions
Parts I and II have shown how ambient
air conditions can have a significant
impact on NOx and CO emissions from
process heaters. These conditions
include air temperature and humidity,
barometric pressure and wind speed.
These conditions affect excess O2 levels,
which directly impact NOx and CO.
Frequent manual adjustments or
Figure 5 Multiple burners mechanically connected by a shaft to a single control motor automatic controls can be used to adjust

40 PTQ Q3 2009 www.eptq.com

for changes in the ambient to minimise
pollutant emissions. Failure to make
More fuel emissions and ozone formation, prepared
for Houston Advanced Research Center, Nov
these adjustments could increase compositions, other 2004, http://files.harc.edu/Projects/AirQuality/
Projects/H008B.2003/TH/H8BTHFinalReport.
pollution emissions and reduce thermal
efficiency. The results also show the burner designs and pdf
2 American Petroleum Institute, Burners for
importance of properly specifying the
range of operating conditions to ensure operating conditions Fired Heaters in General Refinery Services, API
Recommended Practice 535, Second Edition,
the equipment will meet the regulated
emission limits.
should be tested, in Washington, DC, 2006.
3 Baukal C, Industrial Combustion Pollution
As previously emphasised in part I,
much more work should be done to
particular the effects and Control, Marcel Dekker, New York, 2004.
4 Bussman W, Karan J, Fennell T, A new method
further investigate the effects of of wind on other for reducing NOx emissions from heat
treatment furnaces, Industrial Heating, 2004,
weather conditions on NOx and CO.
For example, more fuel compositions, burner intake designs LXXI(4), 127–131.
5 Chellappan C, Waibel R, Reducing NOx
other burner designs and other emissions from ethylene furnaces — practical
operating conditions should be application of lean premix combustion, AFRC
tested. In particular, the effects of wind Meeting 2004.
on other burner intake designs Nomenclature
CO Carbon monoxide
could also be investigated. API 535
NOx Oxides of nitrogen
should be updated to include more
O2 Oxygen Wesley (“Wes”) R Bussman, PhD, is Senior
discussion on the effects of ambient T Absolute temperature Research and Development Engineer at John
conditions. χNO NOx concentration (parts per million by Zink Co LLC in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
volume) Email: Wes.bussman@johnzink.com
This article was derived from The Proceedings Charles E Baukal Jr, PhD, P.E. is Director, John
of IMECE2008 ASME International Mechanical References Zink Institute, John Zink Co LLC in Tulsa,
Engineering Congress and Exposition, 2–6 1 Lindhjem C E, Yarwood G, Humidity and Oklahoma.
November 2008, Boston, Massachusetts. temperature effects on on-road and off-road Email: Charles.baukal@johnzink.com

Reprint from PTQ Q3 2009

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www.eptq.com PTQ Q3 2009 41