Document and Entity Information	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2014	Nov. 06, 2014
Document and Entity Information [Abstract]
Entity Registrant Name	FUEL TECH, INC.
Document Type	10-Q
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		22,835,325
Amendment Flag	false
Entity Central Index Key	0000846913
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Document Period End Date	Sep. 30, 2014
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2014
Document Fiscal Period Focus (Q1,Q2,Q3,FY)	Q3