"EPA/600-S7-81-169." "August 1982." Caption title. At head of title: Project Summary

This report summarizes results of an investigation of the performance of commercial low-NOx burners in refinery process heaters. Refineries in Southern and Central California were surveyed to determine the number of low-NOx burner installations existing or planned. Ten process heaters, equipped with low-NOx burners, were tested to measure gaseous emissions, particulates, and efficiences over a normal range of operating conditions. The as-found NOx emission increased from 58 to 245 ng/J as the fuel-bound nitrogen increased from 0 to 0.81 percent. The NOx concentrations were strongly influenced by excess air levels in most cases. Reducing excess air to about 3-4 percent reduced NOx to 34-200 ng/J, depending on fuel nitrogen. Comparisons of present emissions data with past field test data for refinery heaters equipped with standard burners showed that for mechanical-draft gas-fired heaters, low-NOx burners may reduce the NOx emission factor by 32-77 percent below the mean emission factor for standard burners. Three heaters (one firing gas, another firing distillate oil, and the third firing residual oil) were selected as suitable candidates for 30-day continuous monitoring of gasous emissions.