”Shock­ing Low” Emis­sion Level of less than 20 mg NOx Reached with a New Oilon Burner – A Game-​Changer for the Industry

A recent com­mis­sion­ing in Germany shows an almost 90 percent NOx reduc­tion in a ret­ro­fit burner install­a­tion. This record-​low NOx level enables reverse flame boilers to reach 2025 emis­sion limits. Oilon sees a vast market for ultra-​low emis­sion burners in Europe.  
 
Oilon has repor­ted excep­tional emis­sion levels for its new LN30 burner. In a recent com­mis­sion­ing con­duc­ted in Germany, the burner achieved NOx emis­sions of below 20 mg/Nm³, sig­ni­fic­antly below the new European Union emis­sion limit of 100 mg/Nm³. The results mark a notable advance­ment in low-​emission com­bus­tion tech­no­logy, par­tic­u­larly for older boiler systems. 
 
“We are shocked. These results are truly revolu­tion­ary. This is a big leap for the envir­on­ment and great news for plant owners, who must comply with tight­en­ing emis­sion reg­u­la­tions,” says Philipp Schif­fer, CEO of Kolb Steamtec, an Oilon dis­trib­utor in Germany.  “No burner man­u­fac­turer has ever come close to NOx levels this low in a reverse flame boiler,” he adds.  

Oilon and Kolb Steamtec con­duc­ted the com­mis­sion­ing at a dis­trict heating plant of GGZ Zscho­pau, a Kolb Steamtec cus­tomer near Dresden. Oilon’s LN30, with a firing capa­city of  3,7 MW, replaced an older burner in a reverse flame boiler that uses natural gas as fuel. 

Before the ret­ro­fit install­a­tion took place late last year, the NOx level was approx­im­ately 150 mg/Nm3. Hence, the drop to less than 20 mg/Nm³ was almost 90 percent. This level has been main­tained in the plant since Novem­ber 2024.  

“The LN30 burner is a new product, and this is the first time we’ve been able to com­mis­sion it in a reverse flame boiler. It turns out we have the clean­est burner in the world by a sig­ni­fic­ant margin. These are truly excit­ing times for us,” says Olli Tevä, Chief Busi­ness Officer, Burners, at Oilon. 

Green trans­ition in action  

Record-​low NOx emis­sions are achieved at 3 percent oper­at­ing and ref­er­ence resid­ual oxygen. Fur­ther­more, there is no need for a flue gas recir­cu­la­tion (FGR) system. An FGR can reduce emis­sions in burners, but it is expens­ive to install, lowers energy effi­ciency, and increases fuel con­sump­tion.  

In addi­tion to heating plants, reverse flame boilers are widely used in indus­trial pro­cesses, agri­cul­ture, large build­ings, and marine applic­a­tions. The emis­sions of Oilon burners stand out in other boiler types as well.   

“In the three-​pass boilers, Oilon’s NOx levels are below 10 mg/ Nm³ while other man­u­fac­tur­ers can reach 50–60 mg/Nm³,” Kolb Steamtec’s Philipp Schif­fer says.  

In Germany, the NOx reg­u­la­tion imple­ments the European Union’s Medium Com­bus­tion Plant Dir­ect­ive (MCPD). The limits set by the MCPD vary depend­ing on the size and type of the plant, but as a rule of thumb, all gas-​fired plants must reach a minimum of 100 mg/Nm³ start­ing January 2025. Con­sequently, low-​emission solu­tions are needed for plants that do not meet this require­ment.  
 
“This is green trans­ition in prac­tice. We are proud to present future-​proof energy tech­no­logy that will serve decades to come,” Oilon’s Olli Tevä said.  

Accord­ing to the European Envir­on­ment Agency, NOx emis­sions from energy pro­duc­tion have been reduced by approx­im­ately 60 percent in the European Union since 1990. This reflects the out­comes of EU-wide reg­u­la­tions and tech­no­lo­gical advance­ments in redu­cing air pol­lu­tion.  

Kolb Steamtec spe­cial­izes in plan­ning, man­u­fac­tur­ing, and main­tain­ing steam, hot water, and thermal oil boilers. Founded in 1962, the company employs 60 people and oper­ates across Germany.  

Oilon is a Finnish man­u­fac­turer of burners and indus­trial heat pumps. The family-​owned cleantech company has factor­ies in Finland, China, and the USA. Oilon employs 400 people world­wide. 

Contact  

Olli Tevä 

Chief Busi­ness Officer, Burners, Oilon 

+358 40 1733 0555, olli.teva@oilon.com 

Oilon Burners and Heat Pumps – Oilon

Philipp Schif­fer 

CEO, Kolb Steamtec 

West of A7: +49 2237 973 120, info@kolb-​steamtec.de 
East of A7: +49 3460 242 0984, info@kolb-​steamserv.de

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