The influence of ozone injection mode on the effectiveness of nitrogen monoxide oxidation to nitrogen dioxide by ozone in a flow reactor was investigated experimentally in laboratory apparatus. Nitrogen monoxide was diluted to the mole fraction 100 ppm in air which served as the carrier gas flowing through the tube of the diameter D = 60 mm into which ozone was injected. The effects of a number of ozone injecting nozzles and their configuration on the effectiveness of NO oxidation were examined. In the closest vicinity from the injection site the counter-current injection mode appeared to be superior to the co-current injection mode, but in areas located further from the injection site both injection systems were almost equally effective.

The primary methods of reducing nitrogen oxides, despite the development of more advanced technologies, will continue to be the basis for NOx reduction. This paper presents the results of multivariate numerical studies on the impact of air staging on the flue gas temperature and composition, as well as on NOx emissions in a OP 230 boiler furnace. A numerical model of the furnace and the platen superheater was validated based on measurements using a 0-dimensional model of the boiler. Numerical simulations were performed using the ANSYS Workbench package. It is shown that changes in the distribution of air to OFA nozzles, the angle of the air outflow from the nozzles and the nozzle location involve a change in the flue gas temperature and in the volume of NOx and CO emissions at the furnace outlet.

The results of experimental investigations on the removal of NOx from gases applying ozone as the oxidizing agent and the absorption of higher nitrogen oxides in the sodium hydroxide solutions are presented. The experiment was conducted using a pilot plant installation with the air flow rate 200 m3/h, being a prototype of a boiler flue gas duct and a FGD scrubber. It was shown that in the range of [NOref] = 50 ÷ 250 ppm the mechanism of NO ozonation depends on the molar ratio X = O3/NOref: for X ≤ 1.0 oxidation of NO to NO2 predominates and NO2 is poorly absorbed, for X >> 1.0 NO2 undergoes further oxidation to N2O5, which is efficiently absorbed in the scrubber. The stoichiometric molar ratio of complete conversion of NO into N2O5 is X = 1.5, in these studies to reach the effectiveness η ≥ 90% the molar ratio X was much higher (2.75).

The paper presents results of experimental studies on removal of NOx from flue gas via NO ozonation and wet scrubbing of products of NO oxidation in NaOH solutions. The experiment was conducted in a pilot plant installation supplied with flue gas from a coal-fired boiler at the flow rate 200 m3/h. The initial mole fraction of NOx,ref in flue gas was approx. 220 ppm, the molar ratio X = O3/NOref varied between 0 and 2.5. Ozone (O3 content 1÷5% in oxygen) was injected into the flue gas channel before the wet scrubber. The effect of the mole ratio X, the NaOH concentration in the absorbent, the liquid-to-gas ratio (L/G) and the initial NOx concentration on the efficiency of NOx removal was examined. Two domains of the molar ratio X were distinguished in which denitrification was governed by different mechanisms: for X ≤ 1.0 oxidation of NO to NO2 predominates with slow absorption of NO2, for X >> 1.0 NO2 undergoes further oxidation to higher oxides being efficiently absorbed in the scrubber. At the stoichiometric conditions (X = 1) the effectiveness of NO oxidation was better than 90%. However, the effectiveness of NOx removal reached only 25%. When ozonation was intensified (X ≥ 2.25) about 95% of NOx was removed from flue gas. The concentration of sodium hydroxide in the aqueous solution and the liquid-to-gas ratio in the absorber had little effect on the effectiveness of NOx removal for X > 2.

Whereas the use of biofuels has attracted increasing attention, the aim of this paper is to investigate the possibility of using sewage sludge as biofuel. Preparation of untreated and stabilised sludge with natural additives is described, as well as combusting method applied and experimental results of combusting are presented based on the assessment of composition of emitted pollutants and their concentrations in the exhaust gas. NOx formation in the exhaust gas has been analysed in depth. The results of investigations have shown that the use of dried sewage sludge possesses a positive energy balance. Therefore, the sludge may be used as fuel. The obtained experimental results demonstrate that during combustion, pollutant concentrations vary depending on oxygen content (O2), while formation of nitrogen oxides is strongly influenced by fuel-bound nitrogen. Also, a generalized equation of calculating fuel bound nitrogen conversion into NOx is presented.

The energy obtained from biomass in the global balance of energy carriers is the largest source among all RES. It should be borne in mind that the share of biomass as an energy carrier in the total balance is as much as 14%. The basic sources of renewable energy used in Poland are the wind power industry and biomass. Organic chemical compounds are the source of chemical energy for biomass. The biomass can be used in a solid form (wood, straw) or after being converted to liquid (alcohol, bio-oil) or gas (biogas) form.

Pellets, meaning, the type of fuel of natural origin created from biomass compressed under high pressure without the participation of any chemical adhesive substances are recognized as the most common and available grades of biomass. Wood pellets manufactured from sawdust, shaving, or woodchips are the most popular type of pellets on the market. Fuel created in the form of granules is very dense and can be manufactured with low humidity content, which translates into an exceptionally high burn efficiency.

The authors of this article burned agro pellets from Miscanthus giganteus without additives and with solid catalyst and conducted a series of tests that determine the impact of boiler settings (blast power, time of feeding, chimney draft) on the process of burning fuel in real conditions. A solid catalyst was used to improve combustion conditions in one of the fuels. The catalyst burns carbon monoxide and reduces nitrogen oxides. The results in the form of observation of selected parameters are summarized in the table.

Catalytic properties of activated carbons oxidized, treated with N-compounds, and promoted with copper were studied in selective catalytic reduction NOX by ammonia (NH3-SCR). The modification of the catalysts consisted of a series of steps (pre-oxidation of activated carbon, impregnation with urea, impregnation with copper). The physicochemical properties of the obtained samples were determined using X-ray diffraction, FT-IR spectroscopy, and low-temperature N2 sorption. The modification with copper improved the catalytic activity and stability of the catalysts. All the functionalized carbon doped with copper reached more than 90% of NO conversion and CO2 did not exceed 240 ppm at 220 ◦C. The sample doped with 5 wt.% Cu had the maximum NO conversion of 98% at 300 ◦C. The maximum N2O concentration detected for the same sample was only 55 ppm, which confirmed its selectivity.

A process capable of NOx control by ozone injection gained wide attention as a possible alternative to proven post combustion technologies such as selective catalytic (and non-catalytic) reduction. The purpose of the work was to develop a numerical model of NO oxidation with O3 that would be capable of providing guidelines for process optimisation during different design stages. A Computational Fluid Dynamics code was used to simulate turbulent reacting flow. In order to reduce computation expense a 11-step global NO - O3 reaction mechanism was implemented into the code. Model performance was verified by the experiment in a tubular flow reactor for two injection nozzle configurations and for two O3/NO ratios of molar fluxe. The objective of this work was to estimate the applicability of a simplified homogeneous reaction mechanism in reactive turbulent flow simulation. Quantitative conformity was not completely satisfying for all examined cases, but the final effect of NO oxidation was predicted correctly at the reactor outlet.

In the last few years, cationic layered clays, including bentonites have been investigated as potential catalysts for SCR DeNOx systems. In this work, bentonite as the representative of layered clays was modified in order to obtain an alternative, low-cost NH3–SCR catalyst. Samples of raw clay were activated with HCl or HNO3, treated with C2H2O4 and subsequently pillared with alumina by the ion- exchange. Afterwards, the modified materials were impregnated with iron and copper. The obtained catalysts were characterized by XRD and FT-IR. SCR catalytic tests carried out over analyzed samples indicated the conversion of NO of approximately 90% for the most active sample. The type of acid used for modification and the type of active phase strongly influenced the catalytic properties of the analyzed materials.