VOC SCRUBBERS (Volatile Organic Compounds)

VOC Scrubbers

Depending on the VOC’s solubility and vapor pressure, water scrubbing of VOC's can be highly efficient. Because of potentially high water usage requirements, VOC’s that are highly water soluble, coupled with low Henry’s Law Coefficients, are the most practical compounds for water scrubbers. VOC’s such as Ethanol, Methanol, Phenol are just a few of the most common applications for wet scrubbing.

For those high boiling VOC’s where the ventilation volumes are small and the concentrations are low, a Dry Activated Carbon adsorber provides a highly efficient, low maintenance option to once through water scrubbers. Where loading's are high and carbon is not economically feasible due to replacement costs, a Thermal Oxidizer is generally employed for destruction of the VOC’s.

Ethylene Oxide and Propylene Oxide can be reacted in a wet scrubber to form ethylene and propylene glycol. This hydrolysis reaction is promoted by using a sulfuric acid scrubbing solution as a catalyst. The reaction is relatively slow and special consideration must be given to the retention time and reaction tank sizing. Often these systems are operated on a batch basis and may require a heat exchanger / cooler to remove the heat of reaction generated.

VOC’s can also be stripped from contaminated ground water, industrial wastewater and process effluents using a Degasifier / Stripping Tower. Custom designs are available for VOC’s such as Methylene Chloride, Trichloroethane, Toluene, Benzene and Xylene. Carbon Dioxide Degasifiers are also available for degasification of potable groundwater prior to treatment by reverse osmosis (RO) systems.

The key parameters required for properly sizing a VOC scrubber include the following:

• Inlet Temperature
• Water Vapor Content
• Ventilation Rate
• Contaminant Loading
• Desired Removal Efficiency

The scope of supply for a VOC scrubbing system generally includes but not be limited to scrubber, recycle pump and piping, electrical control panel, instrumentation and fan.