Regulations currently proposed for the South Texas area demand reduction of NO_x emissions from combustion processes, like refining and petrochemical furnaces, to less than 10 ppm for large heat releases. A new generation of low NO_x burner technology has been developed for eductor-style, radiant-wall burners used in ethylene cracking furnaces. These new, revolutionary burners achieve single digit NO_x emission levels using an ultra-lean premix technology. This strategy extends the stoichiometry of the fuel and air/flue gas mixture near the point of the lean flammability limit, providing NO_x levels that were previously unattainable in burner designs. This paper describes the principles underlying the features of the new technology, technical objectives and strategies used to develop the burner, and test data that clearly demonstrate this technology.
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