Boiler Basics 101: Evolution of the CataStak

With air emission regulations constantly changing, Nationwide Boiler has had to adopt new ways to keep up with more stringent standards. For instance, in 1995, Nationwide became the first rental boiler company to convert their fleet of watertube boilers to low NOx levels of 30 ppm. The company’s method of choice to reduce NOx emissions further led to the creation of the CataStak™, which was developed in the late 90s and since then has proven to reduce NOx emissions by as much as 99%. In addition, it can be supplied for new equipment or as a retrofit on an existing system. What were the early days of the CataStak like? What steps did it take to get to where it is now? Let’s find out in this edition of Boiler Basics 101.

It all began when Nationwide Boiler chose Selective Catalytic Reduction, or SCR technology, to be their solution to NOx compliance. They determined that SCR was the best alternative due to its reliability, ease of operation, high efficiency, and its ability to reduce emissions to single digit NOx levels. In 1999, Nationwide Boiler became the first rental boiler company to conduct an SCR field demonstration on a package watertube boiler and followed by utilizing the system heavily in their rental fleet. The enormous success of rental SCR systems suggested to company management that a market existed for a field-retrofit system for package boilers - later to be branded and trademarked in 2001 as the CataStak™ SCR System.

Fast forward to the year 2004, Nationwide began offering the CataStak for new and existing package watertube boilers to meet sub 9 ppm NOx levels. After witnessing its continual growth, Nationwide Boiler introduced a new business unit, Nationwide Environmental Solutions (NES). NES was formed with a focus on lowering overall industrial greenhouse gas emissions and increasing the operational efficiency of fired equipment. This allowed Nationwide to continually raise the bar in providing reliable solutions to meet market demand.

Nationwide later developed the urea-based CataStak as a solution for customers adverse to the stringent handling requirements of ammonia. The system utilizes common diesel exhaust fluid (DEF), a safe and readily available 32.5% liquid urea solution. It was first demonstrated on a package firetube boiler in 2011 and has since been expanded to be utilized on watertube boilers and other fired equipment. Initially, the system was offered only for permanent applications but in 2018, Nationwide became the first rental boiler supplier to provide urea-based SCR systems on a boiler rental project. The company now has a fleet of urea-based SCR systems to support the rental market.

The CataStak has come a long way and has now been installed in over 180 applications. These installations range from temporary to permanent package boilers, fired heaters, gas turbines, and heat recovery steam generators. With all of these accomplishments, the CataStak has become the standard for compliance assurance, reliability and product quality. CataStak SCR systems lead the industry with the best track record in terms of performance, and source test results often exceed current local, regional and national emissions requirements.

If you’re interested in learning more about the CataStak, our website has all the details you need to get started. And be sure to check out the previous and future Boiler Basics 101 blogs to continue learning about various boiler-related topics.