Exhaust stream

This information can be obtained from vent testing, a mass balance, engineering calculations, or simple engineering estimates (using AP-42). Vent testing, though expensive, is the most accurate method. Other important required information is as follows  

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Another use is in various extraction and absorption processes for the purification of acetylene or butadiene and for separation of aHphatic hydrocarbons, which have limited solubiHty in DMF, from aromatic hydrocarbons. DMF has also been used to recover CO2 from flue gases. Because of the high solubiHty of SO2 iu DMF, this method can even be used for exhaust streams from processes using high sulfur fuels. The CO2 is not contaminated with sulfur-containing impurities, which are recovered from the DMF in a separate step (29). 

Air cleaning systems are often used to remove dust or vapors from plant or process exhaust streams. Dust collecting systems such as filters or electrostatic precipitators that handle heavy loads of dust are usually designed to be self-cleaning, but it is stiU. necessary to enter the air cleaner periodically for inspection or repair. Dust deposits inside the equipment are likely to be stirred up and inhaled by unprotected workers. Baghouses are particularly likely to cause exposure because large amounts of dust may be retained in the cloth and released when the bags are handled. 

The activated coating layer must possess two additional properties. It must adhere tenaciously to the monolithic honeycomb surface under conditions of rapid thermal changes, high flow, and moisture condensation, evaporation, or freezing. It must have an open porous stmcture to permit easy gas passage iato the coating layer and back iato the main exhaust stream. It must maintain this porous stmcture even after exposure to temperatures exceeding 900°C. 

Sulfur oxides resulting from fuel sulfur combustion often inhibit catalyst performance in Regions II, III, and a portion of Region IV (see Fig. 7) depending on the precious metals employed in the catalyst and on the air/fuel ratio. Monolithic catalysts generally recover performance when lower sulfur gasoline is used so the inhibition is temporary. Pd is more susceptible than Rh or Pt. The last is the most resistant. Pd-containing catalysts located in hotter exhaust stream locations, ie, close to the exhaust manifold, function with Httie sulfur inhibition (72—74). 

There are situations where thermal oxidation may be preferred over catalytic oxidation for exhaust streams that contain significant amounts of catalyst poisons and/or fouling agents, thermal oxidation may be the only technically feasible control where extremely high VOC destmction efficiencies of difficult to control VOC species are required, thermal oxidation may attain higher performance and for relatively rich VOC waste gas streams, ie, having >20 25% lower explosive limit (LEL), the gas stream s explosive properties and the potential for catalyst overheating may require the addition of dilution air to the waste gas stream (12). 

One important consideration in any catalyst oxidation process for a complex mixture in the exhaust stream is the possible formation of hazardous incomplete oxidation products. Whereas the concentration in the effluent may be reduced to acceptable levels by mild basic aqueous scmbbing or additional vent gas treatment, studying the kinetics of the mixture and optimizing the destmction cycle can drastically reduce the potential for such emissions. 

Selective Catalytic Reduction. Selective catalytic reduction (SCR) is widely used in Japan and Europe to control NO emissions (1). SCR converts the NO in an oxygen-containing exhaust stream to molecular N2 and H2O using ammonia as the reducing agent in the presence of a catalyst. 

In the SCR process, ammonia, usually diluted with air or steam, is injected through a grid system into the flue/exhaust stream upstream of a catalyst bed (37). The effectiveness of the SCR process is also dependent on the NH to NO ratio. The ammonia injection rate and distribution must be controlled to yield an approximately 1 1 molar ratio. At a given temperature and space velocity, as the molar ratio increases to approximately 1 1, the NO reduction increases. At operations above 1 1, however, the amount of ammonia passing through the system increases (38). This ammonia sHp can be caused by catalyst deterioration, by poor velocity distribution, or inhomogeneous ammonia distribution in the bed. 

It is important to produce HCl rather than elemental chlorine, CI2, because HCl can be easily scmbbed out of the exhaust stream, whereas CI2 is very difficult to scmb from the reactor off-gas. If the halogenated hydrocarbon is deficient in hydrogen relative to that needed to produce HCl, low levels of water vapor may be needed in the entering stream (45) and an optional water injector may be utilized. For example, trichloroethylene [79-01 -6] C2HCI2, and carbon tetrachloride require some water vapor as a source of hydrogen (45). 

At least two catalytic processes have been used to purify halogenated streams. Both utilize fluidized beds of probably noimoble metal catalyst particles. One has been estimated to oxidize >9000 t/yr of chlorinated wastes from a vinyl chloride monomer plant (45). Several companies have commercialized catalysts which are reported to resist deactivation from a wider range of halogens. These newer catalysts may allow the required operating temperatures to be reduced, and stiU convert over 95% of the halocarbon, such as trichlorethylene, from an exhaust stream. Conversions of C-1 chlorocarbons utilizing an Englehardt HDC catalyst are shown in Figure 8. For this system, as the number of chlorine atoms increases, the temperatures required for destmction decreases. 

Catalytic oxidation of exhaust streams is increasingly used in those industries involved in the following (13,15,17) ... 

L tcx Monomer Production. ARI Technologies, Inc. has introduced a catalyst system which, it is claimed, can operate at an average bed temperature of 370°C while achieving conversion efficiency in excess of 99.99% on exhaust streams from latex monomer production (see Latex technology). 

Other industries of interest are (1) the manufacturing of spices and flavorings, which may use activated carbon filters to remove odors from their exhaust stream (2) the tanning industry, which uses afterburners or activated carbon for odor removal and wet scrubbers for dust removal and (3) glue and rendering plants, which utilize sodium hypochlorite scrubbers or afterburners to control odorous emissions. 

An ESP is a particulate control device that uses electrical forces to move particles entrained within an exhaust stream onto collection surfaces. The basic theory has already been described under dry ESPs, but a brief summary here is included, with... 

The total releases to air from the facility must be entered m Part III, Section 5 of Form R in pounds per year. The stack test results provide the concentration of metallic lead in each exhaust stream in grains per cubic toot and the exhaust rate in cubic feet per minute. Using the appropriate conversion factors, knowing the scrubber efficiency (from the manufacturer s data), and assuming yourfacility operates 24 hours per day, 300 days per year, you can calculate the total lead releases from the stack test data. Because point (stack) releases of lead are 2,400 pounds per year,-which is greater than the 999 pounds per year ranges in column A. 1, you must enter the actual calculated amount in column A.2 of Section 5.2. 

Burgess et al." describe a study of gas storage cabinets. In the study, coefficient of entry (CJ for various inlet/outlet configurations was measured. A tracer gas study is also described. The tracer gas study involved releasing sulfur hexafluoride (SF ) at 0.032 L s" at a critical leak position in the cabinet and measuring SFg concentration in the exhaust stream. The tracer gas was turned off when a steady exhaust stream concentration was observed and the time for the concentration to decay to 5% of steady state was measured. 

The advantages of thermal incineration are that it is simple in concept, has a wide application, and results in almost complete destruction of pollutants with no liquid or solid residue. Thermal incineration provides an opportunity for heat recovery and has low maintenance requirements and low capital cost. Thermal incineration units for small or moderate exhaust streams are generally compact and light. Such units can be installed on a roof when the plant area is limited. = The main disadvantage is the auxiliary fuel cost, which is partly offset with an efficient heat-recovery system. The formation of nitric oxides during the combustion processes must be reduced by control of excess air temperature, fuel supply, and combustion air distribution at the burner inlet, The formation of thermal NO increases dramatically above 980 Table 13.10)... 

Selective catalytic reduction is based on selective reactions of a continuous gaseous flow of ammonia or similar reducing agents with the exhaust stream in the presence of a catalyst. The reaction that occurs is as follows ... 

SCR units require handling, storage, and continuous injection of the reducing agent. The temperature level is critical because the SCR operates in a narrow temperature range between 550°-750°F (260°-399°C), and thus an exchanger is necessary to cool the exhaust stream. This leads to a complicated and costly process system that must be added to the engine exhaust. 

Manufacturers added exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) systems to counter the increased in-cylinder NO. formation associated with higher operating temperatures. The EGR recycles a portion of the exhaust stream back into the engine intake air. The relatively inert exhaust gas, containing carbon dioxide and water but little oxygen, serves as a combustion buffer, reducing peak combustion temperatures. 

In the lean-burn stage all exhaust components are oxidized by the platinum particles in the catalyst. In particular, NO is oxidized to NO2. The latter reacts with BaO getter to form Ba(N03)2- In the rich mode, which only lasts for seconds, the exhaust stream is deficient in oxygen, and reducing components such as CO, H2 and hydro-... 

The previous section has evidenced that NH3-SCR technology has been used successfully for more than two decades, to reduce NOx emissions from power stations fired by coal, oil and gas, from marine vessels and stationary diesel engines. NH3-SCR technology for high-duty diesel (HDD) vehicles has also been developed to the commercialization stage and is already available as an option in the series production of several European truck-manufacturing companies starting from 2001. For mobile source applications, the preferred reductant source is aqueous urea, which rapidly hydrolyses to produce ammonia in the exhaust stream. 

Non-thermal plasmas can be produced in a number of ways, including a variety of electrical corona discharges, radio frequency discharges, microwave discharges and electron beams. The most common NTP technologies for emission reduction in engine exhaust streams are the following. 

The catalytic surface being saturated to a large extent by N02 adsorbed species. NO and N02 are detected in the exhaust stream, The higher the reaction temperature, the more efficient the progressive adsorption of N02 and the oxidation of nitrites into nitrates. 

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