NEWS RELEASE NOVEMBER 2015
52 Companies Buy 52 Percent of All the NOx Control Reagents Purchased by Stationary Sources
Sales of NOx control reagents for coal-fired power plants will reach $3 billion in 2016. This represents 75 percent of the reagents which will be purchased for stationary applications. Seven companies will account for 44 percent of the purchases by coal-fired power plants and 33 percent of the purchases by all stationary sources.
| NOx Control Reagent Purchases | ||||||
| # Of Corp |
SCR/SNCR Capacity For Each MW x 1000 |
Total MW 1000 |
% of Total Coal-fired Installed Base |
Reagent Purchases $ Millions |
% of Total $26 Billion |
Examples |
| 7 | Over 50 | 575 | 44 | 1,320 | 33 | Big 5 Chinese Corp |
| 10 | 10-50 | 150 | 12 | 360 | 9 | AEP, TVA, Duke, Enel, EON |
| 15 | 5-10 | 105 | 8 | 240 | 6 | NRG, Xcel, Tokyo Electric, Chubu Electric |
| 20 | 3-5 | 80 | 6 | 180 | 4.5 | AES, EPDC, RWE, CEZ |
| 52 | Sub total | 910 | 70 | 2,100 | 52 | |
| 350 | 0-3 | 390 | 30 | 900 | 22 | U.S., Europe, China |
| 404 | Total | 1,300 | 100 | 3,000 | 74 | |
Operators of coal-fired power plants inject nitrogen compounds in one form or another into the exhaust gas to react with the NOx. The result of the reaction is nitrogen and water. This process reduces up to 95 percent of ozone and smog producing NOx.
The nitrogen compound formulation is largely determined by economics and safety considerations. The least expensive compound is anhydrous ammonia. It is routinely used by farmers but does create safety hazards if not handled carefully. Aqueous ammonia includes enough water to minimize safety concerns but adds a cost to the process. Solid urea can be delivered to the power plant and converted to ammonia on site. This option requires investment in capital equipment.
Typically, power plants near cities opt for alternatives to anhydrous ammonia while those in rural areas use the lower cost option. China has chosen the use of urea with on-site conversion for most of its power plants. It has the most NOx control installations, so its selection has reduced the dominance of anhydrous.
The 5 largest Chinese suppliers are among the top 7 NOx system operators in the world. These 7 companies will buy 44 percent of the NOx control reagents in 2016. The next 10 companies, most of whom are U.S.-based, will account for 12 percent of the reagent purchased by power plants and 9 percent of all the reagent purchased by stationary sources.
The concentration of the reagent purchases into this small group of companies means that suppliers can sell directly throughout the world. There are purity differences in ammonia and other reasons that suppliers can provide value beyond purchased cost. McIlvaine has developed a program to help suppliers focus on the large purchasers. Detailed Forecasting of Markets, Prospects and Projects.
This program combines the following:
