Volatile Organic Compound Abatement Systems and Thermal Oxidisers

Countries throughout the world have come to realise that a substantial reduction of volatile organic compounds result in better air quality.VOC emissions:Next to natural processes, VOC emissions result from vehicle emission, fuels, petroleum products and chemicals. They are generated in modern manufacturing industries and food production. Prime examples of VOC generation are spray painting rendering process and chemical production.Generator of VOC:Any manufacturing process which gives off an odour is a generator of VOC.Problems arising from the generation of VOC:VOCs in combination with nitrogen oxides are responsible for ground level ozone and smog. Both have an impact on health and environment. Children, the elderly and people with respiratory illness are particularly at risk.Some, such as those generated in chemical production, for example, may be carcinogenic in nature.These organic compounds will evaporate readily into the air and will spread substances such as benzene, toluene, methylene chloride and methyl chloroform over a wide area.Effects of VOCs in the area of generation:A working environment laden with VOCs is not conducive to productive working practices.The health of production workers may suffer.Processes such as spray painting generate a potentially combustible hazard due to the hydrocarbon content of VOCs used in the manufacture of paint.Effects on the immediate locality:VOCs give off odour and local communities will raise complaints about smell. This ties up managers who have to deal with such complaints in a non-productive function.Local objections can result in the local pollution control board closing down a manufacturing process until VOC/odour problems are rectified to the satisfaction of all parties. Closure of a production facility result in loss of income and profit.How to deal with VOC problems:The best and recognised method of rendering VOCs inert is to treat them in a VOC abatement system. The VOCs are extracted from the point of generation, a paint spray booth for example, to the VOC abatement system where they undergo thermal treatment at high temperature and long residence time in order to render them inert. The resulting treated gas is then discharged to atmosphere.To create an energy balance, the treated hot gases can be passed to the atmosphere via a waste heat boiler or a steam boiler and generator to provide a free supply of either hot water or electricity or to pre-heat incoming VOC stream before treatmentAdvantages of VOC abatement:A better working environment results.A better relationship with the local community results.The pollution control board will see you as an environmentally safe company.Free supplies of hot water, steam or electricity will be made available and will result in reduced overheads.Long residence time in VOC abatement system negates the need for scrubbing of off gas.