Wahlco's Conversion System to be Installed on Spokane's Waste Incinerator

Santa Ana, CA— The Spokane City Council recently approved a $1.86 million retrofit at the electricity-producing waste-to-energy plant in Spokane, Washington. Officials operating the trash burning plant want to reduce the hazards currently posed by using anhydrous ammonia by installing a safer urea based system. Wahlco’s system will furnish ammonia as needed to control oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emissions escaping from the plant.

Opened in 1991, the garbage plant was equipped with a selective non-catalytic reduction (SNCR) system. The system injects ammonia into combustion chambers to convert much of the NOx pollution to harmless nitrogen and water. NOx emissions from combustion processes are heavily regulated because NOx reacts in the atmosphere to form ozone, which is harmful to plants, animals and humans.

A urea to ammonia (U2A™) generation system will be installed which will supply the ammonia needed by the plant SNCR system. The system will convert urea to ammonia when it is required, reducing transport, handling and storage of significant volumes of toxic ammonia.

Wahlco Inc. in Santa Ana manufactures the U2A™ system. Invented by EC&C Technologies, the U2A™ process is covered by U.S. Patents 6,077,491, 6,322,762, 6,436,359, 6,506,350, 6,730,280 with additional patents pending. Wahlco Inc. and Hamon Research-Cottrell USA are the exclusive licensees of the U2A™ process. To date, major utilities and smaller power generators in the U.S. and Europe have installed more than 25 U2A™ generators.