Cyclone Boiler Reburn NOx Control Improvements via Cyclone Design Improvements and Advanced Air Staging

Abstract

Eastman Kodak owns three Babcock & Wilcox coal fired cyclone boilers and one Combustion Engineering pulverized coal boiler located at Kodak Park in Rochester, New York. Duke Energy Generation Services (DEGS) operates and maintains the steam and electric generation equipment for Kodak and has primary responsibility for related capital project development and execution. The Kodak plant is capable of generating approximately 1,900,000 pounds of steam and 130 MW’s of electrical power. To achieve the required level of NOx control, Kodak chose The Babcock & Wilcox (B&W) Company's, Natural Gas Reburn technology for the three cyclone boilers. The relatively low capital cost of the system and reasonable cost of natural gas in the mid 1990’s made Natural Gas Reburn an economic fit for the RACT requirements of 0.60#’s/Mmbtu NOx. The run up in natural gas prices since 2002 has increased the cost of NOx removed from ~ $2000/ton to ~$5000/ton based on fuel expense alone. In an effort to curtail the cost of control, Duke Energy Generations Services and Kodak implemented a series of projects that integrated Cyclone Design Improvements and Advancements in Air Staging along with ESP inlet flue modifications that resulted in decreasing the Natural Gas required for NOx control ~ 40% from baseline levels saving the plant several million dollars per year in fuel expense. Significant improvements in opacity and filterable PM were also realized by these changes.