Robert Kelton
BOC Gases, Murray Hill, NJ
BOC Gases has demonstrated a low-temperature NOx removal process (LoTOx) at a reverbertory furnace used for lead smelting, achieving over 90 percent NOx removal under varying operating conditions. The demonstration establishes LoTOx as a useful process for high-temperature industrial furnaces, a source class that generally has lacked an effective, practical means of NOx control.
The LoTOx system injects ozone into the flue gas stream to oxidize insoluble NOx to soluble oxidized compounds. Ozone is produced on site in response to the amount of NOx present in the flue gas. The ozone rapidly reacts with insoluble NO and NO2 to form soluble N2O5, which rapidly reacts with moisture in the gas stream to form nitric acid. The nitric acid is removed in an aqueous scrubber, neutralized, and sewered.
LoTOx does not require heat input to maintain operational efficiency or to prevent the “slip” of treatment chemicals, such as ammonia, as is common with selective catalytic reduction or non-catalytic reduction (SCR or SNCR). Also, it is not affected by other contaminants in the flue gas and does not interfere with heat recovery.Robert Kelton is Manager, Process Support for the LoTOx Business Development Group, at BOC Gases in Murray Hill, NJ. Since joining BOC in 1997, Mr. Kelton has worked in BOC’s Environmental Market Sector to develop and commercialize BOC’s CO2 SuperSkid solvent replacement technology and the LoTOx Low Temperature Oxidation technology for removal of NOx emissions. In 2001, he moved full time to support LoTOx commercialization.
Mr. Kelton has a BS in Chemical Engineering from Lafayette College.