Ultralow-emission combustion technology for gas turbines

N6

nogenic crease.

air contaminants”

Using computer

would also in-

models developed

the US Environmental

by

Protection Agency,

Nand and coworker Richard E. Burke conducted

a study of the health impact

of

modifying a Southern California petroleum refinery to produce reformulated The

study

creases

estimated

gasoline.

the expected

in air toxics emissions

in-

and as-

sessed the health risk impacts of these emissions on the surrounding community. What they found was generally encouraging. “Risk individual for mated to be Nand noted,

for the maximally exposed the residential area was estiless than one in a million”, adding that the risk for the

maximally exposed worker at the plant wasn’t much higher, at 3.1 in a million. In general, he stated, “emissions of air toxics from the proposed

modifications

cated that the maximum

[...I indi-

individual cancer

risks and hazard indices would not exceed the selected significance thresholds,” However,

Nand pointed out, because

an increase in any of the indices on which this conclusion is drawn “was a concern to local citizens”, the South Coast Air Quality Management District performed additional studies to “assess the potential health benefits to people living in the vicinity of the refinery which would result from using reformulated studies

were

gasoline.” compared,

When

the

Ultralow-Emission Combustion Technology for Gas Turbines

two

It has been announced and Tanaka entered

Kikinzoku

that Catalytica

Kogyo K-K, have

into an agreement

with General

Electric Co. for a Phase II large-scale

test-

ing program to further develop the Catalytica-Tanaka

ultralow-emlsslon

combustion

technology

catalytic

[see Appl. Catal.

A, 119 (1994) N33 for natural gas-fuelled turbines used to generate electricity, General Electric will fund the program to continue development of the CatalytlcaTanaka technology for potential application to GE gas turbines. GE will design a catalytic combustion system utilizing the Catalytica-Tanaka technology and will perform sub-scale tests at GE’s Corporate Research

and Development

Center

and

full-scale tests in the GE Power Generation laboratories

in Schenectady,

New York.

A catalytic combustion system reacts fuel with oxygen in the air on a catalyst surface to form hot combustion

gases that

can be used to power a turbine, Unlike normal flame combustion, which produces high nitrogen oxide (NO,) emissions, catalytic combustion virtually eliminates the formation of this pollutant. NO, is a regulated air pollutant in many localities worldwide,

they indicated

Air Pollution Control

“there would be an overall reduction in the health risk in the community surrounding

Catalytic

the refinery”, Nand concluded. Nand delivered his findings at a session on chemical risk assessment of fossil fuel power plants and refineries that also featured presentations by representatives from Amoco, Brookhaven National Labor-

A book entitled Catalytic Alr Pollution Control - Commercial Technology, by Ronald M. Heck and Robert J, Farrauto of Engelhard Corporation has just been published.

atory, Mobil Research and Development, and Princeton University.

applied catalysis B: environmental

Environmental regulation for controlling emissions from mobile and stationary sources are being put into place in many locations worldwide. Since the introducVolume 5 No. 1-2 -

31 December

1994