THE REAL DIFFERENTIATOR WET VS DRY SCRUBBERS

Jan 09

About 95% of all one-ton and 150-cylinder emergency chlorine scrubbers in the United States today are specified as dry scrubbers. Twenty years ago wet scrubbers were specified 95% of the time. Dry scrubbers have quickly gained favor for a good reason. Dry and Wet scrubbers sell for the same price these days. See the Cost Estimate attached. Dry systems save $7K to $10K a year in maintenance. Dry scrubbers greatly reduce the dangers associated with introducing another hazardous chemical and the associated liabilities. Some of the advantages of dry scrubbing as compared to wet scrubbing are: 1. Secondary containment tanks and/or concrete sumps are not required by the building codes for dry scrubbers to guard against the release of a hazardous caustic chemical from a leaking or ruptured tank as in the case of a wet scrubber. 2. Heaters are not required in cold climates for dry scrubbers. Dry media has been tested down to - 40 deg F. 3. Cleaning of wet scrubber mist eliminators is not an issue in dry systems 4. Wet systems require pump maintenance. Dry scrubbers have no pumps. 5. Wet scrubbers require chemical titration, hazardous chemical handling and hazmat approved personnel. Dry media is non-hazardous in the fresh & spent forms. Wet caustic soda is hazardous and must be disposed of as such. 6. Our competitors use high performance packing in vertical towers and cross-flow beds for contacting the gas with the wet caustic soda. The caustic dries in the packing and is degraded to sodium carbonate which heavily builds over a short period of time. After 2 years wet packed scrubbers become an operators nightmare due to clogged pumps, spray nozzles, packing and mist eliminators. See attached photos of carbonate/caustic fouled packing in a wet packed scrubber.

Severn Trent Services 3000 Advance Lane Colmar, PA 18915-9998 Tel 215 997 4000 Fax 215 997 4062 www.severntrentservices.com

In summary, the normal problems associated with wet caustic scrubbers using high performance packing media with 20% caustic soda are: 1. Degrading Caustic - Dried caustic soda reacts with carbon dioxide in the air and converts to sodium carbonate. This sequesters the CO2 and helps the greenhouse effect but it hurts the wet scrubber long term operation. The carbonates will not re-dissolve and cause clogging in the packing, pumps and spray nozzles and mist eliminators. Frequent acid cleaning of the high surface area packing and associated down time is maintenance demanding. This is also a dependability issue. In short mist eliminator, packing and spray nozzle annual cleaning are specific wet scrubber maintenance issues not associated with dry scrubbers. 2. Demineralized Water Make-Up - Water naturally evaporates from the caustic solution over time thereby concentrating the solution and accelerating the fouling effects stated above. An entire batch can solidify. Constant vigil must be maintained of the liquid level and demineralized water added as required on a regular basis. 3. Disposal of caustic every 5 years - Caustic soda replacement could cost up to $4000 per batch. Disposal of waste caustic, which is normally designated as a hazardous waste, could cost an additional $10,000 per batch. Dry media does not require replacement unless exposed to chlorine. 4. If 1/4 of the caustic solution is spent in an event, the entire batch has to be replaced. The solution concentration can NOT be elevated with the addition of stronger caustic as this would lead to reaction salt precipitation problems. Whereas, 1/4 of the dry media can be taken out of the tank and replaced while saving 3/4 of the media that was unaffected by the leak. 5. Dry media is non-hazardous and in most cases is landfill disposable. 6. Wet caustic scrubbers circulate 20% caustic soda solution at high pressures. The possibility of a leak is always present. This becomes an
Severn Trent Services 3000 Advance Lane Colmar, PA 18915-9998 Tel 215 997 4000 Fax 215 997 4062 www.severntrentservices.com

operator safety issue. All nuts and bolts have to be re-torqued on a regular schedule many times a year on wet scrubber systems. 7. Wet caustic scrubbers in freezing environments need heating and insulation and the normal associated maintenance. The dry scrubbing media can operate at temperatures down to - 40 deg F without heating. 8. Wet scrubbers need caustic leak containment provided either as double walled expensive tanks or concrete containment areas around the tank per the building code. 9. Bleach (NaOCl) is the reaction product in wet caustic soda chlorine scrubbers. Bleach is a hazardous aggressive chemical that can result in a shorter tank life. This is not the case for dry scrubber tanks. 10. Foaming is experienced due to natural caustic contamination over time. This is caused by the inability of the air to separate from the thick caustic solution. Special caustic surfactants need to be added to the caustic every 2 to 3 months to prevent this problem. 11. Wet caustic scrubbers are NOT user-friendly. 12. The normal maintenance savings of dry scrubbers over wet scrubbers are $7500 per year considering the total costs associated with one complete bed exhaustion over a 20 year scrubber life. See the cost estimate worksheet attachment. Before any specifications are written the specifying engineer should visit some wet packed scrubber installations that are 2 years old. Using 20% caustic solution along with PACKING in chlorine scrubbing applications has been replaced with more efficient methods. More importantly a wet packed scrubber may not work when it is needed. Dependability is a major issue in emergency systems. A wet system may be a caustic brick in 2 years. This is made more complicated by colder climates and outdoor installations.
Severn Trent Services 3000 Advance Lane Colmar, PA 18915-9998 Tel 215 997 4000 Fax 215 997 4062 www.severntrentservices.com

Aqua America in PA purchased eleven (11) wet caustic packed scrubber systems over a 4 year period and is now in the process of converting to dry because of the many problems they are now facing with the caustic/packing issue. Some operators have described high concentration 20% caustic scrubbers using packing as cement mixers.
Ken Zarzycki Severn Trent Water Purifications, Inc./EST Scrubber Products Office: 215 - 997- 3736; Fax: 215 - 997- 4062 Email: KZarzycki@SevernTrentServices.com
Attachments: 1. 20 year Installation and Maintenance Cost Estimate Jan 09 2. Carbonate Fouling Photos

Severn Trent Services 3000 Advance Lane Colmar, PA 18915-9998 Tel 215 997 4000 Fax 215 997 4062 www.severntrentservices.com

Carbonate Formation on Wet Packing

Jan 2009

20 Year Operating & Maintenance Cost Estimate

Capital Costs Project Subtotal
Dry Scrubber with release $ 335,000 Wet MVP with release $ 410,000 Dry Scrubber without release $ 335,000 Wet MVP without release $ 410,000

Depreciation Cost
Operating & Maintenances Costs Total 20-Year Costs

335,000 (16,750/year) 102,000 (5,110/year)

410,000 (20,500/year) 200,000 (10,000/year)

335,000 (16,750/year) 48,000 (2,410/year)

410,000 (20,500/year) 186,000 (9,300/year)

$437,000 ($21,850/year)

$610,000 ($30,500/year)

$383,000 ($19,150/year)

$596,000 ($29,800/year)

EST

Capital Costs

Dry Scrubber Installation

Wet MVP Installation

Equipment Pad Scrubber System

Installation Duct Work Electrical Work Contractor Over Head (15%) Contingency (15%) Construction Cost Engineering and Administration (20%) Project Subtotal

$3,000 150,000 30,000 15,000 15,000 28,000 38,000 279,000 56,000 $335,000

$3,000 175,000 40,000 15,000 25,000 39,000 45,000 342,000 68,000 $410,000

Jan 2009

Cost basis is outdoor installation and double wall containment & heater on MVP

EST

A) Operating Cost Calculations for Dry Scrubber With Accidental Release: Operating Man Hour= 2 Man Hr /Month X 12 Month /Yr = 24 Hr/Yr X $ 40 /Hr =$ 960/Yr Power Supply= 25 KWH / Month X 12 Month /Yr= 300 KWH/Yr X $ .17/KWH = $ 50 /Yr Yearly Maintenance/Analytical Items Cost = $ 1000/Yr. Misc. Cost= $ 400/Yr. Media Change and Disposal Cost (assuming 1 time media change in 20 year) = $ 54000/20 yr.=2700/Yr Total Yearly Operating and Maintenance Costs = $ 5110 20-Year Maintenance Costs ~ $ 102,000 B) Operating Cost Calculations for Dry Scrubber Without Accidental Release: Operating Man Hour= 2 Man Hr /Month X 12 Month /Yr = 24 Hr/Yr X $ 40 /Hr =$ 960/Yr Power Supply= 25 KWH / Month X 12 Month /Yr= 300 KWH/Yr X $ .17/KWH = $ 50 /Yr Yearly Maintenance/Analytical Items Cost = $ 1000/Yr. Misc. Cost= $ 400/Yr. Total Yearly Operating and Maintenance Costs = $ 2410 20-Year Maintenance Costs ~ $ 48,000 C) Operating Cost Calculations for EST MVP Wet Scrubber Without Accidental Release: Operating Man Hour= 8 Man Hr /Month X 12 Month /Yr = 96 Hr/Yr X $ 40 /Hr =$ 3840/Yr Power Supply= 40 KWH / Month X 12 Month /Yr= 492 KWH/Yr X $ .17/KWH = $ 84 /Yr Yearly Maintenance Items Cost = $ 1000/Yr. Misc. Cost= $ 2000/Yr. Caustic Change and Disposal Cost (recommended once every 5 years, 4 times in 20 year life time, $ 12,000 per change for disposal and replenishment) = $ 12,000 x 4 /20yr.= $2400/Yr Total Yearly Operating and Maintenance Costs = ~ $ 9300 20-Year Maintenance Costs ~ $ 186,000

Jan 2009

D) With an accidental release for the wet MVP: $12,000 per change x (4 + 1) /20 yrs = $3000/Yr Total Yearly Operating and Maintenance Costs = ~ $ 10,000 20-Year Maintenance Costs ~ $ 200,000

EST