CALCULATING NOx LEVELS

Many flue gas analyzers measure NOX in parts per million (ppm) by volume on a dry basis. The measurements are
often corrected to some standard such as 3% oxygen using Equation 1.

Equation 1 (20.99 - 3)
ppm at 3% O 2 = ppm at % O 2 measured X
(20.99 - % O 2 measured)

Emission levels are also expressed as pounds of NOX per million Btu or per hour. Common practice is to use the
weight of NO2 for calculating the NOX levels with the following two equations:

Equation 2 20.99 X 46 X measured ppm NO X X PFRS

lb. NO 2 /million Btu =
379 X (20.99 - measured % O 2 ) X HHV

where
PFRS = SCF products of combustion per SCF of fuel at stoichiometric ratio
lb. NO2 / lb. Mole = 46
SCF NO2 / lb. Mole = 379
HHV = higher heating value of fuel in Btu/SCF
Note:
Either wet or dry basis can be used but PFRS and measured % O2 must be consistent.
The equation is for combustion without exhaust gas recirculation.

Equation 3
lb. NO 2 /hr. = lb. NO 2 /million Btu X million Btu/hr.

In the United States, the fuel's higher heating value (HHV) is used in the calculations. Lower heating values (LHV) are
used in many other countries. Average natural gas (1050 Btu/SCF, HHV) at stoichiometric ratio produces approximately
8.91 dry SCF products of combustion per SCF of fuel. This volume varies with actual gas analysis.

When NOX emission data are expressed in ppm corrected to some standard oxygen level it DOES NOT necessarily
mean that the fuel was actually burned with this amount of excess oxygen. The correction is only a mathematical
calculation. For example, the Japanese correct their NOX data to 11 percent O2 dry. Obviously their process furnaces
are not operating at over 80 percent excess air which is equivalent to 11 percent excess oxygen.

Recognizing that there may be (and probably is) a difference between actual field conditions and ppm data corrected
to a standard condition is important. As excess air levels increase from stoichiometric conditions, NOX increases
rapidly. To understand a burner's NOX characteristics, it is necessary to know what excess air level was actually used
for combustion as well as the ppm level and the corrected oxygen basis. Using data expressed in pounds of NO2 per
million Btu (HHV) eliminates much of the confusion.

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