Evaluation of Gas Reburning & Low NOx Burners on a Wall Fired Boiler Performance and Economics Report Gas Reburning-Low NOx Burner System Cherokee Station Unit 3 Public Service Company of Colorado

Under the U.S. Department of Energy's Clean Coal Technology Program (Round 3), a project was completed to demonstrate control of boiler NOX emissions and to a lesser degree, due to coal replacement, SO2 emissions. The project involved combining Gas Reburning with Low NOX Burners (GR-LNB) on a coal-fired electric utility boiler to determine if high levels of NOX reduction (70%) could be achieved. Sponsors of the project included the U.S. Department of Energy, the Gas Research Institute, Public Service Company of Colorado, Colorado Interstate Gas, Electric Power Research Institute, and the Energy and Environmental Research Corporation. The GR-LNB demonstration was performed on Public Service Company of Colorado's (PSCO) Cherokee Unit #3, located in Denver, Colorado. This unit is a 172 MW~ wall-fired boiler that uses Colorado Bituminous, low-sulfur coal. It had a baseline NOX emission level of 0.73 lb/106 Btu using conventional burners. Low NOX burners are designed to yield lower NOX emissions than conventional burners. However, the NOX control achieved with this technique is limited to 30-50%. Also, with LNBs, CO emissions can increase to above acceptable standards. Gas Reburning (GR) is designed to reduce NOX in the flue gas by staged fuel combustion. This technology involves the introduction of natural gas into the hot furnace flue gas stream. When combined, GR and LNBs minimize NOX emissions and maintain acceptable levels of CO emissions. A comprehensive test program was completed, operating over a wide range of boiler conditions. Over 4,000 hours of operation were achieved, providing substantial data. Measurements were taken to quantify reductions in NOX emissions, the impact on boiler equipment and operability and factors influencing costs. The GR-LNB technology achieved good NOX emission reductions and the goals of the project were achieved. Although the performance of the low NOX burners (supplied by others) was less than expected, a NOX reduction of 65% was achieved at an average gas heat input of 18Y0. The performance goal of 70% reduction was met on many test runs, but at a higher reburn gas heat input. S02 emissions, based on coal replacement, were reduced by 18Y0. The performance goal of 70% reduction was met on many test runs, but at a higher reburn gas heat input. S02 emissions, based on coal replacement, were reduced by 18Y0. Toward the end of the program, a Second Generation gas injection system was installed. Higher injector gas pressures were used that eliminated the need for flue gas recirculation as used in the first generation design. The Second Generation GR resulted in similar NOX reduction performance as that for the First Generation. With an improvement in the LNB performance in combination with the new gas injection system , the reburn gas could be reduced to 12.5% of the total boiler heat input to achieve al 64?40 reduction in NO, emissions. In addition, the OFA injectors were modified to provide for better mixing to lower CO emissions