1st Edition

Design of Thermal Oxidation Systems for Volatile Organic Compounds

By David A Lewandowski Copyright 2000

    Controlling the emission of volatile organic compounds (VOC) became a very prominent environmental issue with the passage of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments, and will continue to be an environmental priority through the next decade. No single technology has played as important a role in the control of VOC emissions as thermal oxidation. It has the ability to destroy VOCs in a one-step process that produces innocuous by-products.
    Design of Thermal Oxidation Systems for Volatile Organic Compounds provides all the information needed for developing a thermal oxidation design in a single reference. It covers design, operation, and maintenance as well as the principles behind the classification of volatile organic compounds as hazardous waste. The author explores the primary purpose of thermal oxidizers and discusses their limitations.
    The book provides:

  • practical, complete, and concise thermal oxidizer design principles
  • an outline of state-of-the-art design principles
  • a practical rather than theoretical approach
  • real industrial examples in each chapter
    With the new regulations that affect VOC emissions, engineers from such diverse fields as oil refining, chemical distillation and separation processes, and pharmaceutical industries will need to design and implement thermal oxidation systems. Design of Thermal Oxidation Systems for Volatile Organic Compounds provides a reference to the entire design process, from conceptualization to operation and maintenance.
  • INTRODUCTION
    Combustion
    History of Air Pollution
    Thermal Oxidation's Wide Applicability
    Air Pollutant Emissions in the United States
    Industrial Sources of Air Pollution
    ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATIONS
    Federal Law - State Implementation
    1990 Clean Air Act Titles
    VOC DESTRUCTION EFFICIENCY
    Operating Parameters
    Destruction Efficiency
    EPA Incinerability Ranking
    Environmental Regulations
    Halogenated Compounds
    COMBUSTION CHEMISTRY
    Generalized Oxidation Reactions
    Highly Halogenated VOCs
    Chemical Equilibrium
    Dewpoint
    Products of Incomplete Combustion (PICs)
    Substoichiometric Combustion
    Emission Correction Factors
    MASS AND ENERGY BALANCE
    Fundamentals
    Energy Balance
    Lower and Higher Heating Values
    Auxiliary Fuels
    Mass-to-Volume Heat Release Conversions
    Mixture Heating Values
    VOC Heating Value Approximations
    Heat of Formation
    Water Quench
    Auxiliary Fuel Addition
    Adiabatic Flame Temperature
    Excess Air
    Wet vs Dry Combustion Products
    Simplified Calculational Procedures
    WASTE CHARACTERIZATION AND CLASSIFICATION
    Waste Stream Characterization
    Waste Stream Variability
    Minor Contaminants - Major Problems
    Classifications
    Liquid Waste Streams
    THERMAL OXIDIZER DESIGN
    Burners
    Residence Chamber
    Refractory Insulation
    Thermal Conductivity
    Heat Loss
    Mixing
    Plenums and Nozzles
    Typical Arrangements
    HEAT RECOVERY
    Heat Exchangers
    Waste Heat Boilers (WHB)
    Heat Transfer Fluids
    Water Heating
    Drying
    Regenerative Heat Recovery
    CATALYTIC OXIDATION
    Applications
    Theory
    Basic Equipment and Operation
    Gas Hourly Space Velocity (GHSV)
    Catalyst Design
    Operation
    Halogens
    Catalytic vs. Thermal Oxidation
    Waste Gas Heating Value Effects
    Catalyst Deactivation
    Deactivation Indicators
    Regeneration
    Performance Comparison
    Pilot Testing
    Summary
    REGENERATIVE SYSTEMS
    Evolution of the RTO
    Basic Concept
    Thermal Efficiency
    Number of Heat Sink (Regenerator) Beds
    Purge System
    Bed Orientation
    Thermal Efficiency vs Cycle Time
    Heat Sink Materials
    Flow Diverter Valve
    Single-Chamber Design
    Auxiliary Fuel Injection
    Pollutant Emissions
    Effect of Waste Stream Component on Design and Operation
    Exhaust Temperature Control
    Waste Stream Motive Force
    Regenerative Catalytic Oxidizers (RCO)
    Retrofit of RTO
    COMBUSTION NOx CONTROL
    Characterizing/Converting NOx Emission Levels
    NOx Formation Mechanisms
    Thermal NOx Equilibrium/Kinetics
    Parametric Affects
    Fuel Type Affects
    NOx Prediction
    Low NOx Burners
    Vitiated Air
    Flue Gas Recirculation (FGR)
    Fuel-Induced Recirculation (FIR)
    Water/Stream Injection
    Air/Fuel Staging
    Staged Air Oxidation for Chemically Bound Nitrogen
    Effect of Sulfur
    POST-COMBUSTION NOx CONTROL
    Selective Noncatalytic Reduction (SNCR)
    Chemistry
    Effect of Temperature
    Normalized Stoichiometric Ratio
    NOx Inlet Loading
    Effect of Residence Time
    Effect of POC Carbon Monoxide Concentration
    Practical Reduction Levels
    Injection Methods
    Computational Fluid Dynamic Modeling
    Ammonia Slip
    Reagent By-Products
    Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR)
    GAS SCRUBBING SYSTEMS
    Wet Scrubbers
    Dry Systems
    Hybrid Systems
    SAFETY SYSTEMS
    Lower Explosive Limit (LEL)
    Minimum Oxygen Concentration
    Flashback Velocity
    Flashback Prevention Techniques
    Combustion Safeguards
    Typical Natural Gas Fuel Train
    Start-Up Sequence
    Interlocks
    Lead/Lag Temperature Control
    Electrical Hazard Classifications
    DESIGN CHECKLIST
    Primary Objectives
    Scope of Supply
    Process Conditions
    Design Requirements
    Performance Requirements
    Auxiliary Equipment
    Utilities Available
    Environment
    Preferred Equipment/Approved Vendors
    Start-Up Assistance
    Spare Parts
    Design Documentation
    Appendix A - Incinerability Ranking
    Appendix B - Table of the Elements
    Appendix C - Heats of Combustion of Organic Compounds
    Appendix D - Abbreviated Steam Tables
    Appendix E - Explosive Limits of VOCs
    References
    Bibliography
    Index

    Biography

    David A Lewandowski