Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) emissions reduction on natural gas fired equipment has become a topic that every plant owner and engineer with a boiler or burner has to address due to Environmental Protection Agency compliance mandates at the state and Federal levels.  Responsible for creation of ozone and smog, reducing NOx emissions will become even more of a hot topic as time goes on. New laws are requiring plants to invest in updating their boilers with low NOx technologies. These plants in turn are looking to burner manufacturers who are challenged to meet the demand for low NOx technology that meets or exceeds the state and Federal requirements, although in many states the low NOx requirement doesn’t apply to units with a output of less than 10mmbtu.

When replacing or upgrading a boiler or burner system:
 

1. Contact your state EPA office to confirm what specific local, state and Federal requirements need to be met depending on your system and output.
    
2. Consider having a qualified independent boiler service company evaluate your system and verify that it meets mandated EPA compliance guidelines.
    
3. Depending on the upgrade, there could be some sacrifice in boiler efficiency and turn down ratio. Discuss these performance adjustments with your burner manufacturer or boiler service company to understand what an equipment update means to your steam plant.