NOx Reduction Requirements Along the Gulf Coast Drive Capital Spending

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Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources, Incorporated; Houston, Texas). Industrialinfo.com has released several industry alerts and reported many project updates in recent months that show capital spending for NOx (nitrogen oxide) emission reductions totaling several billion dollars in coming years. Currently, Industrialinfo.com has identified 50 chemical projects across the country with NOx emission reduction equipment listed as part of the project scope and total investment value for these projects totaling over $2 billion.

Click on image at right to view the Chemical Plant NOx Reduction Projects Table

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) is pushing mandates that are leading many other regions of the country in being the strictest reductions on NOx emissions. In the attached table evidence of this is obvious, of the 50 projects listed over half of the projects are in located in Texas. "There are literally hundreds of chemical producers in Texas alone that will be required to expend large capital dollars in the next couple of years on SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction) units, ultra low NOx burners, boiler and heater replacements among other items," commented Trey Hamblet, Chemical Group Manager with Industrialinfo.com.

Although Texas seems to be the center point for a majority of this future spending, producers located in the neighboring state of Louisiana will also spend significantly in coming years along with a few plants in Ohio and Virginia. "Beyond the big projects that we have identified in the large petrochemical complexes with large furnaces or crackers, the small chemical producers are effected equally on smaller scale," Mr. Hamblet added. See related article Small Chemical Producers in Texas Optimistic About Complying with New NOx Regulations.

Some chemical producers are meeting new NOx reduction requirements through upgrades and replacements as mentioned, but others are forced to larger extremes such as constructing grassroot plants or new production units based on newer more efficient technology to achieve a reduction between 80% or even 90% in some cases.