Formation and Dispersion of Nitric Acid Vapor from Stack Flue Gas

Abstract

Extreme recovery of the thermal energy from the combustion of flue gas may bring about early gas condensation resulting in the increased formation of nitric acid vapor. The behavior of the nitric acid formed inside the stack and in the atmosphere was investigated through a computer-aided simulation in this study. Low temperatures led to high conversion rates of the nitrogen oxide to nitric acid, according to the Arrhenius relationship. Larger acid plumes could be formed with the cooled flue gas at 40°C than the present exiting gas at 115°C. The acid vapor plume of 0.1 ppm extended to 25 m wide and 200 m high. The wind, which had a seasonal local average of 3 m/s, expanded the influencing area to 170 m along the ground level. Its tail stretched 50 m longer at 40°C than at 115°C. The emission concentration of the acid vapor in the summer season was a little lower than in the winter. However, a warm atmosphere facilitated the Brownian motion of the discharged flue gas, finally leading to more vigorous dispersion.

Keywords

• heat recovery
• nitric acid
• numerical simulation
• atmospheric reaction
• flue gas