The unit is the fourth and last of four units to receive the new equipment, which is designed to further reduce nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions at the plant.
The company said the installation of the equipment was complex as it had to be installed while Big Bend’s other units continued to operate. More than 1500 people worked during the six years of planning, engineering and construction and took more than 3 million man-hours to complete.
The Environmental Investment and Emissions Reduction Program is the initiative taken by Tampa Electric under a 1999 agreement with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) to reduce overall emissions from Tampa’s power plants.
SCR in a coal-fired power plant in which exhaust gasses pass through the catalytic converter, where a chemical reaction takes place and the unburned hydrocarbons are eliminated. At a power plant with SCR equipment, NOx emissions pass through a catalyst and react with ammonia, converting the NOx into elemental nitrogen and water.
The company claims that the completion of the 10-year environmental improvement program should result in the annual reduction of sulfur dioxide (SO2), NOx and particulate matter emissions by 88%, 90% and 71%, respectively, below 1998 levels.
The company also reduced overall mercury emissions by more than 75%, besides lowering emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) by 25% since 1998.
