The project aimed to reduce nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions in one of the coal-fired power plants in India with a capacity of over 100 MWe. The boiler was commissioned in Q1 of 2020, and it has been in operation since then. Performance Guarantee Tests have also been duly completed.
The project met the guaranteed values of 290 mg/Nm3 of NOx (at 6% oxygen reference) in all mill combinations and load conditions (60%, 80% and 100%) by using local Indian coal with the lowest NOx values remaining well below 200 mg/Nm3.
Sanjay Aggarwal, Managing Director, Fortum India, said, “India’s existing coal-fired plants will undergo through technological upgradation to meet the stringent emission norms. Even the 15–20-year-old power plants have the potential to improve their energy efficiency and reduce their air emissions significantly, like in the case of NOx emissions, by adopting the best available technologies. With this project, we have demonstrated that it is possible to not only meet the existing NOx emission norms in India, but also overtake them and with some margins.”
Juha Suomi, Head of Sales, Fortum eNext, said, “Reducing the emission levels of power plants will not only help make the energy sector more sustainable but also curb the air pollution levels, thereby taking India closer towards achieving its climate goals. Fortum is committed to supporting India in achieving this goal by offering its knowledge and expertise to the energy sector.”
Fortum eNext has advanced technology for reducing NOx emissions by using only primary combustion modification on the boiler with minimal capital expenses and no operating expenses. During the course of the project, Fortum carried out various field data analyses, tests with local coals in different coal mill operations and combinations, measurements of NOx emission levels at different production loads, and modifications to the existing coal burners and combustion staging, based on Computational Fluid Dynamic modelling combined with Fortum’s excessive experience on previous retrofit projects.