CRI NEWSROOM

August, 2004




In June 2004, CRI successfully installed and started-up a low temperature selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system on a package boiler at Ingomar Packing in Los Ramos, California. This is the first SCR to comply with San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District (SJVAPCD) Rule 4306. The SCR system was designed, engineered and manufactured by CRI with fabrication and installation by CRI's West Coast representative, Nationwide Boiler. Nationwide Boiler is the exclusive Northern California and Central Valley sales representative for CRI Catalyst Company's SCR system for package boiler applications.

Ingomar Packing Company of Los Banos, CA operates a 75,000 lb/hr boiler that was originally installed in 1983. Before installation of the SCR system, NOx emissions from this boiler averaged over 25 ppm. After installation of the CRI SCR system, NOx emissions were reduced to less than 5 ppm, with ammonia slip well below the permitted limit.

SJVAPCD Rule 4306 requires NOx emissions from boilers with an input of over 20-million btu/hr be reduced to 9 ppm according to the following timetable: 25% of an operator's units by June, 2005; 62.5% by June 2006; and 100% by June, 2007. Installation of CRI's SCR system meets this requirement without affecting the existing burner's turndown or response to load swings. On the Ingomar Packing installation, there was also no need to increase the fan motor horsepower or change the existing control system.

According to the operations manager at Ingomar, the two-week installation and one-day start-up went seamlessly. He reported that since being installed, the system has operated with no real problems, essentially requiring only periodic replenishing of the ammonia cylinder supply.

CRI's SCR system consists of a reactor house that contains the CRI low temperature SCR catalyst modules, associated instrumentation and ammonia system controls, and the required reactor house/stack inlet and outlet interfaces. The CRI System does not require large ammonia storage tanks, ammonia vaporizers, or complicated control systems based on NOx-emission measurements. Rather, it is designed for stand-alone operation requiring minimum operator intervention. It is relatively compact and designed for field retrofit on most package boilers, up to 250,000 lb/hr.

The CRI SCR system is proving to be a cost-effective solution in terms of both initial cost and operating costs. It's proven technology offers many operational advantages when compared to other available alternatives.