CONTROL OF GASEOUS AIR

POLLUTANTS

39 KTE19CE038 NANDANA GOPAN

41 KTE19CE040 NEHA S ELIZABETH
42 KTE19CE041 NEVIN REJI
43 KTE19CE042 NIKHIL ABE VICTOR
44 KTE19CE043 NITHIN M S
INTRODUCTION
 A substance in the air that can cause harm to animals and the environment is called
pollutant.

 Pollutants can be in the form of solid particle, liquid droplets or gases.

 If the pollutants emitted are more than the self cleansing capacity of the atmosphere, it will
remain in the air and will result in various ill effects.

 Under these circumstances we have to impose control measures to limit the emission into
the atmosphere.
CONTROL MEASURES
PREVENTION
 The best control strategy is the prevention of emissions
 Investigate different approaches in process design
 Select the process which do not contribute pollution or have minimum pollution
potential
 Source Correction methods
i. Raw material change
ii. Process change
iii. Equipment modification or replacement
SOURCE CORRECTION METHOD

RAW MATERIAL CHANGES

 Use purer grade of raw materials & reduce formation of undesirable pollutants
as by-products, e.g.
1. Use of low sulphur fuel instead of high sulphur fuel
2. Fuel desulphurization
3. Coal gasification
 The most promising method of using coal in combustion is by gasification, since
sulphur and other material can be removed from gas much more readily than from
solid coal.
 Coal gasification done in two steps
1. Destructive distillation
2. With steam
PROCESS CHANGES
 Use of new modified techniques
1. Petroleum refining
2. Volatile substances are recovered by condensation
 Dust control in Rotary kilns
1. By adjusting operating conditions
2. Reduction of gas velocities in Kilns
3. Modification in rate and location of feed introduction.
 Other examples include
i. Reduction of nitric oxide in combustion chamber
ii. Washing the coal before pulverization
iii. Substitution of bauxite flux for fluorspar
EQUIPMENT MODIFICATION OR REPLACEMENT

 Automobiles
1. Unburnt hydrocarbons & CO can be burnt by injecting air into hot exhaust
manifolds
2. Modification of Carburetors

 Steel industry
1. Replacement of open hearth furnace by oxygen furnace
CONTROL METHODS
 The most common method for controlling gaseous pollutants is the addition of add
on control devises.
 There are four commonly used control technologies:
 Absorption
 Adsorption
 Condensation
 Combustion
 ABSORPTION

 Effective, commonly used in industries, including chemical manufacturing, oil and gas

refining, and wastewater treatment

 Most frequently used techniques for controlling the concentrations of gaseous

pollutants before they are discharged into the atmosphere.

 Involves using a liquid absorbent material to capture the pollutants from the air.

 The absorbent material can then be regenerated or disposed of in a safe manner.

ABSORPTION BY LIQUIDS
 Effectiveness of absorption depends on scrubbing medium
 Properties :
• high gas solubility and high selectivity between solute species
• low vapour pressure
• Non-corrosiveness
• easy regeneration and recovery
• low costs
• Low viscosity at absorption temperature
 CONTD…

• low viscosity at absorption temperature,

• Non toxicity
• Non flamable
• chemical stability
 Solvents commonly used:
 Sulphur dioxide
 Nitrogen oxides
 Hydrogen sulphide
 Hydrogen chloride
 Gas absorption equipment:- by dispersing the liquid in the gas or vice versa
 Commonly used absorbers:
 Packed tower
 Plate tower
 Venturi scrubbers
 PACKED TOWER

 Very efficient, continuous contact of two phases

 Packing materials- ceramic packing to crushed rock
PACKED TOWER
 Liquid is distributed over packing, providing high interfacial surface area
 Liquid flows down as thin films or subdivided streams
 Gas flow down, liquid flow up
 Limited to clean gases- due to plugging by slurry
 PACKED
Packed tower
TOWER
 PLATE AND SPRAY TOWER

 Step wise contact b/w liquid and gas

 Water introduced at top, cascades through each tray and
withdrawn at bottom
 Gas flows opposite to liquid flow
 At each tray, gas passes through small holes drilled in the
tray or under slotted caps immersed in the liquid, forming
bubbles.
 Absorption takes place during the bubble formation and
their ascent through the liquid.
 In the spray towers, the flow arrangements are normally
countercurrent and cross flow.
 The liquid is introduced by spray nozzles or other
atomizing devices which form droplets.
 These droplets provide the mass transfer surface.
 Spray towers are used for absorption of highly soluble gas
and solid particles when these are present in the gas.
 VENTURI SCRUBBERS

 Liquid and gas flows in same direction

 Absorbing liquid introduced at throat
 Dispersion of liquid by high velocity gas stream
 The resulting large interfacial area makes the
venture scrubber an extremely efficient absorber.
 However, the energy required for achieving high
efficiencies is considerable
 STEPS IN ABSORPTION

 Contacting: The contaminated air is brought into contact with the absorbent material.

This can be done using packed towers, spray towers, or other types of absorbers.

 Absorption: The gaseous pollutants are absorbed by the absorbent material. The

efficiency of absorption depends on several factors, including the type of absorbent

material, the concentration of pollutants, and the temperature and humidity of the air.
CONTD….

 Separation: The clean air is separated from the absorbed pollutants. This can be

done using a demister, a filter, or other types of separation devices. 

 Regeneration: The absorbent material can be regenerated by heating it or using a

chemical process. This allows the absorbed pollutants to be released and the
absorbent material to be reused.
ADVANTAGES

 Versatile and effective

 Can be used for a wide range of pollutants

 Both high and low concentrations

 Wide range application

ADSORPTION

 Adsorption is a surface phenomena.

 Gaseous pollutants are removed from an air stream by transferring the pollutants to

the solid surface of an adsorbent. 

 ADSORPTION

 Firstly, the gaseous material condenses upon the surface of the solid.

 It is accompanied by an evolution of heat.

 Removal of adsorbed material is either by:

1. Reducing the pressure or

2. Increasing temperature
FACTORS AFFECTING RATE OF ADSORPTION

 Concentration of material around the adsorbent.

 Surface area of the adsorbent

 Pore volume of the adsorbent

 Temperature

 Molecular polarity

 Chemical nature of adsorbent surface

REGENERATION OF ADSORBENTS

 There is a limit to the mass of pollutants that can be collected by an adsorbent.

 When this limit is reached, the adsorbent is no longer effective in removing

pollutant.

 To recover the ability to capture gaseous pollutants, adsorbents typically are

"regenerated"
STAGES OF ADSORPTION

 STAGE 1 : Diffusion of pollutants from the bulk gas phase to the external surface of

solid.

 STAGE 2 : Diffusion of gas molecules into pores of solid.

 STAGE 3 : Actual adsorption on the active sites in the pores.

 TYPES OF ADSORPTION SYSTEM

1. Stationary bed : polluted air stream enters from the top, passes through a layer, or
bed, of activated carbon, and exits at the bottom.

2. Moving bed : activated carbon moves slowly down through channels by gravity as
the air to be cleaned passes through in a cross-flow current.
 ADSORPTION SYSTEM

 The gas initially leaving the bed after adsorption process is almost completely free of
pollution.
 After a period of time, the layers of the solid at the entrance become saturated with
adsorbed gas.
 Zone of active adsorption moves deeper into the bed.
 When front of the active zone reaches the bottom of the bed, the bed starts become
inactive.
 Then pollutant level in the exit gas stream starts to rise and reaches influent
concentration
ACTIVATED CARBON ( HEATED CHARCOAL)

 Most common adsorbent material

 Very porous

 Has an extremely high ratio of surface area to volume

 Useful as an adsorbent for cleaning airstreams that contain VOCs and for solvent

recovery and odour control.

 ADSORPTION AND MOLECULAR WEIGHT OF ORGANIC
COMPOUNDS

 Adsorption systems are usually limited to sources generating organic compounds

having a molecular weight of more than 50 and less than approximately 200. 

 Low molecular weight organics usually do not adsorb sufficiently.

 High molecular weight compounds adsorb so strongly that it is difficult to remove

these materials from the adsorbent during the desorption cycle. 

BREAKTHROUGH CURVE

Source : www.google.com
The curve of pollutant concentration as a function of time.
CAPACITY OF AN ADSORBER

 Saturation Capacity

Maximum capacity the adsorbent can hold. 

 Break through capacity

Amount of pollutant that can be adsorbed before a significant pollutant concentration

exits, or breaks through, the bed.
CAPACITY OF AN ADSORBER ( CONT…)

 Heel capacity

Amount of pollutant that remains in the bed after it has been regenerated. 

 Working capacity 

Difference between breakthrough capacity and heel capacity, and represents the amount
of material that can be adsorbed in each working cycle. 
APPLICATIONS OF GAS ADSORPTION
 Odour control at various types of chemical manufacturing and food processing
facilities.
 Recovery of volatile solvents.
e.g. Benzene
 Control of VOCs at industrial facilities.
 Used for collecting valuable organic substances that cannot be picked up by scrubbing
methods.
INCINERATION [COMBUSTION]

 Incineration is the process of burning hazardous materials at temperatures high

enough to destroy contaminants.
 Gas streams of no recovery value, so absorption methods may not be economically
feasible.
 Gas contains sufficient combustible material - incineration
 converting the pollutants to carbon dioxide and water vapor.
CONT.

 Destruction of odours, toxic substances, and reactive materials, the prevention of

explosion hazards, and the reduction of pollutants in the oxidized forms.
 combustion must be complete; otherwise, intermediate products of combustion will
form
 oxygen must come into intimate contact with the combustible material through
adequate turbulence at sufficiently high temperature and have a sufficiently long
residence time.
 “three T’s” of combustion.
 The normal ranges are: temperature: 375 – 825°C, residence time: 0.2 – 0.5sec and
gas velocity: 4.5 – 7.5 m/sec.
METHODS OF COMBUSTION

 Direct combustion (or flaring),

 Thermal incineration (flame combustion)
 Catalytic oxidation.
METHODS OF COMBUSTION

1. Direct combustion (or flaring)

 Highly combustible streams with high heating values can be eliminated by direct
flaring.
 flaring is not satisfactory solution - excessive amounts of inorganic pollutants like
sulphur, chlorine and fluorine -pretreating
 Studies conducted shows that the destruction efficiency of a flare is about 98 percent.
METHODS OF COMBUSTION

2. Thermal incineration
 combustible gases with inert gases -preheating
 Thermal incineration - most efficient , most flexible technique for destroying such
diluted gas streams.
 In the thermal incinerator the waste gas is preheated and passed into a combustion
chamber where temperature of 500° to 800° is maintained.
METHODS OF COMBUSTION

2. Thermal incineration
 The gas stream is kept at this elevated temperature long enough (0.3 to 0.7 sec
residence time) to allow complete oxidation.
 The gas stream is introduced in such geometry and at a velocity that promote
turbulence and thorough mixing with the burning fuel.
 Little maintenance.
 The major operating cost is in the form of fuel required to sustain appropriate
temperature levels.
METHODS OF COMBUSTION

3. Catalytic oxidation
 Thermal incineration of much diluted pollutants is not economically feasible due to
additional fuel cost.
 The combustion takes place on a catalyst usually at temperature below those
required for thermal incineration.
 Catalyst- precious metals, primarily platinum and palladium or their alloys.
 These are arranged in such a way as to provide the maximum possible surface area
for contact with the gas.
 METHODS OF COMBUSTION

3. Catalytic oxidation
 The catalyst is coated onto suitable elements such as metal ribbons, ceramic rods, or
alumina pellets. These elements are then packed into the catalyst bed.
 catalytic combustion unit:
 reaction vessel or converter
 preheat section
 Reaction vessel: in which the catalyst is arranged in single or multiple fixed beds.
 Preheat section: the gas stream is heated to the temperature required to support
catalytic combustion.
METHODS OF COMBUSTION

3. Catalytic oxidation
 The preheated gas passed through the catalyst bed where the combustion occurs.
 To maintain the catalyst in an active state and to achieve complete combustion,
about 1% excess oxygen is required.
 Gases that are free of particulate matters, free of metallic substances which could
poison the catalyst.
 The catalyst bed is cleaned periodically by scrubbing with water or sometimes with
acid and by heating to high temperatures.