Furnace heating specialist Kanthal AB has launched Ecothal, a new gas treatment system which has the potential for reducing nitrous oxide (NOx) emissions from gas fired radiant tube heaters by over 75%. At the same time, thermal efficiency is also increased. Ecothal comprises a catalyst package located in the burner to reduce nitrous oxide emissions and another oxidation catalyst to reduce carbon monoxide (CO) and unburned hydrocarbons. Ecothal is made with Kanthal APM tubes – a FeCrAl material with outstanding properties of corrosion resistance at high temperature. Rather than producing complete burners, Kanthal are using existing commercially available burners and modifying them with the new technology. Ecothal has the same basic design as single ended recuperative tube systems. The tubes are standard size and the air and gas supply does not require special reconstruction. Upgrading to the new Kanthal system is therefore straightforward. An additional benefit of using APM tubes is the ability to run each heating position at 30–40% higher power compared with conventional nickel chromium tubes.
