Pilot-Scale NOx and SOx Aftertreatment Using a Two-Phase Ozone and Chemical Injection in Glass-Melting-Furnace Exhaust Gas

Abstract

As NOx and SOx have significant environmental impacts, advanced treatments are required to remove them from the exhaust gas of a glass melting furnace. Here, we investigate a plasma-chemical hybrid process (PCHP) for this purpose. A pilot-scale experiment of the simultaneous removal of NOx and SOx using a PCHP combined with the existing semi-dry type desulfurization reactor is conducted on actual high-temperature exhaust gas from a glass melting furnace. NO (the majority of NOx exist as NO) in the exhaust gas is oxidized to NO2 using active oxygen (ozone: O3) generated by a plasma ozonizer. The exhaust gas must be cooled to less than 150 °C in order to suppress the thermal decomposition of O3, while the gas temperature at the outlet of the semi-dry reactor must be kept at 200–;250 °C to protect the dry-type electrostatic precipitator. Therefore, it is important to form a local cooling area for NO oxidation in the reactor. In this article, we use the three-fluid nozzles of O3, water, and air to form the local cooling area and effectively oxidize NO to NO2. In addition, we spray NaOH aqueous solution for SO2 absorption downstream of the NO oxidation area to allow sufficient time for NO oxidation. The SO2 reacts with NaOH to produce Na2SO3, a powerful reducing agent. Subsequently, NO2 reacts with Na2SO3 and is reduced to N2, and the Na2SO4 generated in this reaction is reused as a clarifier of the raw materials for glass manufacturing. As a result, the ratio of the amount of removed NO and NOx to the amount of injected O3 (de-NO/O3 and de-NOx/O3) is 64% and 78%, respectively; therefore, high efficiency is obtained. This article includes actual examples of the treatment of exhaust gas in a glass melting furnace, using PCHP de-SOx and de-NOx technologies along with results from pilot-scale experiments.