Environmental legislation imposes
restrictions, to increasingly lower values, on SO2 emissions in combustion
gases from industrial installations using any type of fuel, to reduce the
effect of acid rain that these emissions cause.
In parallel with this, government
authorities impose limits on the content of sulphur in fuels, especially
fuel oil, for use in small and medium-sized combustion installations that
are not normally equipped with units to scrub the combustion gases emitted
into the atmosphere.
The European Union currently sets the
limit on these emissions at 1,700 mg/Nm3 of dry gases, referenced to
an oxygen content of 3 %. Equally, and in stechiometric consonance
with this value, it is prohibited to use a fuel with over 1% sulphur,
except where it can be demonstrated that the combustion installation has
scrubbing systems that safeguard this maximum value for emissions of
SO2.
It is often useful to be able to
produce an a priori calculation of the theoretical content in SO2 in
the gases emitted, based on the content of sulphur in the fuel. As an example, the calculation is worked
through for fuel oil and Diesel fuel, based on typical breakdowns of
composition, in a combustion installation. The calculation, which assumes
that all the sulphur in the fuel is oxidised to SO2 and is expelled with
the combustion gases, is applicable to any other type of fuel.
To access the calculation methodes,
consult the following documents compiled by rb bertomeu
(by clicking on the chosen title):