Boiler Blog | Nationwide Boiler Inc.

We proudly promote the Nationwide Boiler CataStak™ Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) System for single-digit NOx emissions on package boilers and other fired equipment. Have you ever wondered exactly what NOx is, and, why reducing NOx emissions and your carbon footprint is important?  

NOx refers to nitrogen oxides. It is a generic term for a group of highly reactive gases containing oxygen and nitrogen in varying amounts. NOx forms when fuel is burned at high temperatures, like in a burner combustion process. Package boilers, fired heaters, gas turbines, heat recovery steam generators, and other fired equipment will produce varying levels of NOx, depending on the type of fuel, the burner construction and arrangement, and if any SCR technology is being used.

In short, reducing NOx emissions into the atmosphere will reduce a number of health and environmental hazards linked to the harmful pollutant. NOx has been linked to ground-level ozone, acid rain, water quality deterioration, global warming, and a number of significant respiratory issues.

The EPA and state air boards have been instrumental in the reduction of stack emissions since the 70’s, and Nationwide Boiler has been using and selling CataStak™ SCR systems to continue the trend. Check out this informative article for more detailed information on the harmful effects of NOx and how the EPA is working to control it.

Nationwide Boiler is proud to announce that we have achieved an Experience Modification Rate (EMR) of 0.61, the lowest rate possible for our company! A low EMR exhibits our commitment to safe work practices and continuous on the job training. 

An Experience Modification Rate is a numeric representation of a company’s safety record, used by the insurance company for workers’ compensation policies.  The industry average EMR is 1.0, and we are well below the average!

Nationwide Boiler’s Health, Safety & Environmental Manager, Holly Lepo, leads the company’s safety program, which includes over 60 individual safety modules ranging from abrasive wheel grinding to workplace violence. Since 2005, Holly has been developing, implementing, training, and fine tuning the program with the help of ISNETworld and Avetta contractor qualification networks. 

We would like to thank Holly and the employees of Nationwide Boiler for your hard work and dedication to safety, allowing us to achieve this excellent EMR rate.

View our latest press release for more information. 

As much as we sometimes wish they would just go away, compliance regulations are here to stay.  Overall, regulations are put into place by local governing agencies for the health and safety of the public, environment and plant operations.  These are all items which we agree must be top priority. However, the most difficult part of regulations is interpreting, comprehending, and staying current with new rules, revisions, and updates.  Combine that with the fact that the applicability of regulations can also be daunting -- things just get harder and harder.  

When it comes to NOx compliance, Nationwide Boiler has you covered.  We have helped hundreds if not thousands of customers meet both local and national NOx compliance regulations ever since the Clean Air Act passed in the 1980’s.   Our boiler rental fleet is equipped with the most advanced burners the industry has to offer and our new and reconditioned boilers all include energy efficiency upgrade options and CataStak™ SCR System component add-ons, proven to reduce NOx to levels as low as 5 ppm.

Our most recent compliance success story is a project we recently completed with NRG Energy Center San Francisco.  Nationwide Boiler provided a single Ammonia-Free CataStak™ SCR System for two 55,000 lb/hr natural gas-fired boilers that were required to operate at 9 ppm NOx levels as governed by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD).

Read more about this project and how it demonstrated a simple method of reducing greenhouse gas emissions without the use of a standard ammonia-based SCR in the fall edition of Today’s Boiler.

If you need help keeping up with compliance's, call us today at 510-490-7100.  We can help.

On December 20, 2012, the EPA finalized the Boiler MACT, a specific set of adjustments to existing Clean Air Act standards, for boilers and certain solid waste incinerators. These adjustments set standards to cut emissions of hazardous air pollutants, such as mercury, dioxin, and lead, from large boilers in a range of industrial facilities and institutions.

The DOE will offer technical assistance to affected sites currently burning coal or oil, highlighting strategies such as natural gas combined heat and power (CHP), and more efficient boilers, to cut harmful pollution and reduce operational costs. DOE will also provide site-specific technical and cost information to the major source facilities currently burning coal or oil through its regional Clean Energy Application Centers (CEACs).

The CEACs will visit these facilities to discuss strategies for compliance, including CHP, as well as provide information on potential funding and financing opportunities available for CHP, controls, boilers and energy efficiency assessments. Facilities that make use of this technical assistance can potentially develop strategies to comply with the regulations while adding to their bottom line.

Contact Nationwide Boiler today to discuss how we can help you come up with a solution that will cut emissions in your facility. Call: 1-800-227-1966.

Information on financial incentives available at the local, state, utility and federal levels to assist facilities with the costs of investing in CHP, boiler tune-ups, controls and/or energy efficiency assessments is available at:
http://www1.eere.energy.gov/manufacturing/states/pdfs/incentives_boiler_mact.pdf

Information about the rule, including links to the regulatory dockets, technical information on how the limits were developed, and impact assessments, is available at:
http://www.epa.gov/airquality/combustion/actions.html