The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's new National Ambient Air Quality Standards (Naaqs) for ozone will boost an already growing market for NOx-control technologies. This is the conclusion of a study by The McIlvaine Co., Northbrook, Ill.
NOx-control technologies include:
- Low-NOx burners
- Noncatalytic and selective catalytic reduction systems
- Reburn systems
- Instrumentation and control systems
- Catalysts and chemicals.
The McIlvaine study predicts that the market for such controls will increase to $2 billion/year within 10 years.
Robert McIlvaine, president of the company, said, "In terms of growth and profit potential, this is the most attractive U.S. environmental business opportunity ever."
Sales of control equipment and materials will be strong in 1998, according to the study, but the following several years will bring fewer orders. Explosive growth will follow, as a result of major retrofit programs and NOx control orders for new construction.
Annual orders for low-NOx burners will increase to more than $1 billion in 1998, predicts the study, after which they will fall for several years, then resurge. Orders for selective catalytic reduction systems, on the other hand, will increase steadily to more than $1 billion/year in 2006.
The study results indicate that, within 10 years, catalyst purchases will increase to $280 million/year, and ammonia orders will reach $100 million/year. Sales of NOx-related instrumentation and controls will increase to $100 million/year in 1998, but will not reach this level again until 2003.
"The least expensive way to help bring the ozone nonattainment areas into compliance will be, first and foremost, NOx reductions from the old utility power plants," says McIlvaine, "followed by industrial boilers, refineries, reciprocating internal-combustion engines, waste incinerators, gas turbines, cement kilns, and metal melting furnaces."
CORRECTION
An error appeared in the article "Instantaneous flow rates overstate gas release determination," by Milton R. Beychok (OGJ, July 28, 1997, pp. 80-82).
In the equation box, the last exponent (-0.5179) in Equation 3 was incorrect. The correct equation is as follows:
P2 = [(5.3329 3 (10-4) (t2 - t1) + P1-0.1174] -8.5179 (3)
Copyright 1997 Oil & Gas Journal. All Rights Reserved.
