Selective non-catalytic reduction (SNCR) is a method to lessen

nitrogen oxide Nitrogen oxide may refer to a binary compound of oxygen and nitrogen, or a mixture of such compounds: Charge-neutral *Nitric oxide (NO), nitrogen(II) oxide, or nitrogen monoxide * Nitrogen dioxide (), nitrogen(IV) oxide * Nitrogen trioxide (), or ...

emissions in conventional

power plant A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid. Many ...

s that burn

biomass Biomass is plant-based material used as a fuel for heat or electricity production. It can be in the form of wood, wood residues, energy crops, agricultural residues, and waste from industry, farms, and households. Some people use the terms bio ...

waste Waste (or wastes) are unwanted or unusable materials. Waste is any substance discarded after primary use, or is worthless, defective and of no use. A by-product, by contrast is a joint product of relatively minor economic value. A waste pr ...

and

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when ...

. The process involves injecting either

ammonia Ammonia is an inorganic compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula . A stable binary hydride, and the simplest pnictogen hydride, ammonia is a colourless gas with a distinct pungent smell. Biologically, it is a common nitrogenous ...

urea Urea, also known as carbamide, is an organic compound with chemical formula . This amide has two amino groups (–) joined by a carbonyl functional group (–C(=O)–). It is thus the simplest amide of carbamic acid. Urea serves an important ...

into the firebox of the boiler at a location where the

flue gas Flue gas is the gas exiting to the atmosphere via a flue, which is a pipe or channel for conveying exhaust gases from a fireplace, oven, furnace, boiler or steam generator. Quite often, the flue gas refers to the combustion exhaust gas produc ...

is between to react with the nitrogen oxides formed in the combustion process. The resulting product of the chemical

redox Redox (reduction–oxidation, , ) is a type of chemical reaction in which the oxidation states of substrate change. Oxidation is the loss of electrons or an increase in the oxidation state, while reduction is the gain of electrons or ...

reaction is molecular

nitrogen Nitrogen is the chemical element with the symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a nonmetal and the lightest member of group 15 of the periodic table, often called the pnictogens. It is a common element in the universe, estimated at se ...

(N₂),

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide ( chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is t ...

(CO₂), and

water Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as ...

(H₂O). The conversion of noxious NO_x to innocuous N₂ is described by the following simplified equation: :4 NO + 4 NH₃ + O₂ → 4 N₂ + 6 H₂O When urea is used, the pre-reaction occurs to first convert it to ammonia: :NH₂CONH₂ + H₂O → 2 NH₃ + CO₂ Being a solid, urea is easier to handle and store than the more dangerous

(NH₃), so it is the reactant of choice. The reaction requires a sufficient reaction time within a certain temperature range, typically , to be effective. At lower temperatures the NO and the ammonia do not react. Ammonia that has not reacted is called ammonia slip and is undesirable, as the ammonia can react with other combustion species, such as

sulfur trioxide Sulfur trioxide (alternative spelling sulphur trioxide, also known as ''nisso sulfan'') is the chemical compound with the formula SO3. It has been described as "unquestionably the most important economically" sulfur oxide. It is prepared on an ind ...

(SO₃), to form ammonium salts. At temperatures above 1093 °C ammonia oxidizes: :4 NH₃ + 5 O₂ -> 4 NO + 6 H₂O In that case NO is produced instead of being removed. A further complication is mixing. In general, more NO will form in the center of the reaction vessel and less near the walls, as the walls are cooler than the center. Thus, more ammonia must find its way to the center and less near the walls, otherwise NO in the center meets insufficient ammonia for reduction and excess ammonia near the walls slips through. Although in theory selective non-catalytic reduction can achieve the same efficiency of about 90% as selective catalytic reduction (SCR), the practical constraints of temperature, time, and mixing often lead to worse results in practice. However, selective non-catalytic reduction has an economical advantage over selective catalytic reduction, as the cost of the catalyst is not there.

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How SNCR Works

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See also