Novel circulating fluidized bed reactors for NOx reduction and hydrogen production

在化学反应途径合成、产品设计、工艺开发和工业系统及社区规划中结合生态学原理和生命周期思想，是实现可持续工业发展的最有前途的工程方法。加拿大需要解决的两个紧迫问题是改善当地空气质量和减少温室气体排放。为了实现加拿大的京都雅阁承诺，在未来6年内需要减少35%以上的温室气体排放，目前的成本约为30美元/吨二氧化碳（CO2）当量。另一方面，当地空气质量的改善需要减少氮氧化物（NOx）排放，氮氧化物是导致光烟雾形成的主要污染物，并且是所有主要空气污染物中控制成本最高的污染物（>$2000/吨NOx）。为了以经济的方式减少CO2和NOx排放，需要考虑综合方法，其中环境和健康效益与经济利益相平衡。 我们建议开发两种新型流化床反应器，用于催化还原来自固定和移动的源的富氧燃烧烟气中的NOx，以及用于烃类蒸汽重整反应器中的原位二氧化碳去除，以提高工艺效率，以及使用综合经济、生态和社会影响评估工具进行系统的技术评估。新型脱硝技术的成功开发将有助于控制发电厂、炼油厂、锅炉和熔炉等工业源的氮氧化物排放，有助于改善当地和区域的空气质量，从而改善公众健康。 另一方面，新的制氢技术将有助于提高制氢过程的效率，从而减少二氧化碳排放，帮助加拿大履行其京都承诺。

Incorporation of ecological principles with the life cycle thinking in the chemical reaction pathway synthesis, product design, process development and industrial system and community planning is the most promising engineering approach in achieving sustainable industrial development. Two of the urgent issues to be addressed in Canada are the improvement of local air quality and the greenhouse gas emission reduction. To meet Canada's Kyoto Accord commitment, more than 35% greenhouse gas emissions needs to be reduced in the next 6 years at a current cost of about $30/tonne carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent. On the other hand, the improvement of local air quality, requires the reduction of nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions which is the primary pollutant responsible for photo-smog formation and is the most costly pollutant to be controlled among all major air pollutants (>$2000/tonne NOx). To reduce CO2 and NOx emissions at an economical way, one needs to consider integrated approaches in which the environmental and health benefits are balanced by the economical interest.      We proposed to develop two novel fluidized bed reactors for catalytic reduction of NOx in oxygen-rich combustion flue gases from both stationary and mobile sources and for in-situ carbon dioxides removal from hydrocarbon steam reforming reactors to improve process efficiency, as well as on conducting a systematic technology evaluation using integrated economical, ecological and social impact assessment tools. The successful development of the novel deNOx technology will contribute to NOx emission control from industrial sources such as power plants, oil refineries, boilers and furnaces, contributing to the improvement of local and regional air quality and thus public health.  The novel hydrogen production technology, on the other hand, will help improving the hydrogen production process efficiency, leading to reduction in CO2 emission, helping Canada to meet its Kyoto commitment.