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Startup of first TertiNOx catalyst reference to reduce harmful N₂O and NOx in nitric acid industry

| By Gerald Ondrey

Haldor Topsoe A/S (Lyngby, Denmark) and Proton Ventures B.V. have announced a successful startup of the first TertiNOx catalyst reference at Kavala Fertilizers, one of the largest nitric acid producers in Greece. Topsoe has supplied both catalyst and basic engineering for the project. The plant has already exceeded its design conversion with NO emissions below 10 parts per million (ppm), low ammonia slip, and practically eliminated NOx emissions.

“With the new deNOx and NO removal system, we are very proud to be able to outperform the current Best Available Technologies achieving extremely low emission levels,” says Theodora Kouloura, COO, Kavala Fertilizers LTD.

TertiNOx is a catalyst for removal of nitrous oxide. The catalyst is developed for the nitric acid industry where NO is formed as byproduct of the oxidation of ammonia. TertiNOx  is also active for SCR reactions to remove NOx.

NO is a very potent greenhouse gas, and even relatively small concentrations have a big negative impact on the climate. Apart from the environmental benefits, reducing NO emissions from nitric acid units is a cost-effective way to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and save on CO credits.

“We are thrilled to see the excellent performance and positive carbon reduction of Topsoe’s TertiNOx technology in its first application world-wide. Globally, it is very important to reduce emissions of the extremely potent greenhouse gas, NO, as well as NOx. This project has shown that TertiNOx does that in a very cost-effective and efficient way. We are extremely proud to fight climate change together with Proton Ventures and Kavala Fertilizers,” says Janus Münster-Swendsen, business development manager at Haldor Topsoe.

For more information about TertiNOx, see Chem. Eng. May 2017, p. 10.