Design Makes the Difference

Fuel Savings from Thermal Incineration of Contaminated Exhaust Air

Thermal exhaust air incineration is often associated with additional energy

consumption, which not only increases operating costs, but can also lead to
additional CO2 emissions. This does not always have to be the case. Proper
integration of waste heat utilization for the production heat demand can often results
in improvements in both areas. The following article describes the functionality of one
such installation, and the effects of different designs.

Function and Applications

Many production processes produce exhaust air loaded with pollutants. As long as
these pollutants are of an organic nature, they can be oxidized at high temperature to
produce CO2 and H2O. The reaction should occur at a temperature sufficiently high to
reduce pollutant emissions to near zero very efficiently.

The required temperature level is reached by a combination of recovery of exhaust

heat by an exhaust air preheater, through the combustion heat of the pollutants
themselves, as well as through additional energy supplied by auxiliary fuel firing.

There is a wide range of applications for exhaust air incineration systems. For
example these installations are widely used in press, lamination and paint facilities.
They are also utilized in the food industry to eliminate odors from frying or smoking
plants; to treat waste fluids from storage tanks, retorts or reactors in the chemical and
petrochemical industry; and to purify exhaust air or waste gasses containing
hydrocarbons in many different industries.

Design

Reaction chambers are at the heart of all exhaust air incineration systems, in which
the pollutants are converted under high temperature with sufficient oxygen supply
and appropriate residence time. The oxidation of the carbon passes through the
intermediate stage of carbon monoxide. This intermediate product is thermally stable
and generally determines the required temperature level of approximately 750 °C.
Reaction chambers equipped with internal insulation are recommended, so that no
heat loss occurs during the reaction. Simple systems with air-cooled steel reaction
chambers may be used but are not as efficient and the indicated temperature at the
chamber exit does not accurately indicate performance.

In most systems the exhaust air is initially preheated in a gas to gas heat exchanger.
Auxiliary heat if required is supplied in the form of gaseous or liquid fuel fired in a
special supplemental burner. This occurs generally without additional air supply. The
heat generated during the exothermic conversion of the pollutants must also be taken
into consideration, which can completely cover the auxiliary energy demand in certain
applications. The type of load plays an important part in the system design.
Special designs include Regenerative Thermal Oxidation (Illustration 2), which can
attain an extremely high exhaust air preheating level of over 700 °C with bulk material

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buffer. Additionally the catalytic exhaust air incinerator (Illustration 3) can attain a
reaction at only 350 to 400 °C, which minimizes the additional energy demand.

With increased loading levels the danger of an internal explosion exists; the
preheating levels must be reduced in accordance with the UEG (lower explosion
limit) of the air-hydrocarbon mixtures as preheat temperature increases. External
waste heat recovery processes then become more important, for example to heat
thermal oil or generate steam.

Illustration1: Regenerative Thermal Oxidizer Illustration 3: Thermal Oxidizer with priority

RTO - reservoir 3.1 is being discharged, 3.2 is
being charged, 3.3 is being flushed;
1. Extraction fan; 2. change-over damper;
3. Bulk material heat accumulator; 4. Pilot
burner; 5. Reaction chamber; 6. Clean gas
stack
exhaust air preheater; 1. Exhaust air fan;
2. High temperature exhaust air preheater; 3.
Supplementary burner; 4. Insulated reaction
chamber; 5. External waste heat utilization;
6. Clean gas stack

Illustration 4: Thermal Oxidizer with external

Illustration 2: Catalytic exhaust air
priority waste heat utilization; 1. Exhaust air
purification; 1. Exhaust air fan; 2. Exhaust air
fan; 2. High temperature exhaust air preheater;
preheater;
3. Supplementary burner; 4. Insulated reaction
3. Ignition burner; 4. Catalysor;
chamber; 5. External waste heat utilization;
5: Clean gas stack
6. Clean gas stack

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External Waste Heat Utilization Takes Precedence as Measure for Energy
Conservation

Although the facility shown in Illustration 4 above represents the customary

installation, the design according to Illustration 5 can also be utilized with exhaust air
loaded with a low level of contaminates. The waste heat is first utilized for external
applications and only supplies residual heat from the exhaust for preheating. The
facility therefore indicates an increased additional energy demand. This is
overcompensated for, however, as shown in the following sample calculation:

Variation 1: Standard Installation with Priority Exhaust Air Preheating

Exhaust air flow to be treated: 10,000 m³/ h (standard conditions)

Exhaust air temperature before
treatment: 150 °C
Pollutant: Methanol
Pollution concentration: 15 g/ m³
Exhaust air preheating: 500 °C

Approximately 1,003 kW is required to attain the reaction temperature of 750 °C.

About 813 kW is generated through the exothermic oxidation of the methanol. The
difference of 190 kW must be covered through supply of additional fuel. The clean
gas exits the air preheater however at 410 °C. A further waste heat utilization of
approximately 330 kW can be attained with standard operating temperatures and the
use of thermal oil as heat medium. The facility then operates with a heat surplus of
140 kW (results from not taking the pollutant combustion heat into the operating cost
calculation). The actual savings are still higher: about 380 kW of fuel energy that
would be required to heat the thermal oil to attain an output capacity of 330 kW,
depending upon the efficiency of the thermal oil heating unit. This produces a savings
of approximately 380 kW of fuel. A savings of “380 kW - 190 kW = 190 kW” has
resulted in the production heat supply system.

Variation 2: Thermal Exhaust Air Purification System with Priority Production Heat
Generation - Same Basis but Lower Exhaust Air Preheating Level

Exhaust air flow to be treated: 10,000 m3/ h (standard conditions)

Exhaust air temperature before
treatment: 150 °C
Pollutant: Methanol
Pollution concentration: 15 g/ m³
Exhaust air preheating: 300 °C

The energy demand for attaining the reaction temperature is now 1,795 kW. After
deduction of the unchanged pollutant combustion heat, there remains 982 kW.
However, there is now 1,130 kW available for external heat utilization at the same
exhaust temperature, which can replace 1,285 kW of fuel. The fuel savings is then
303 kW opposed to the 190 kW in the first calculation.

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The system is environmentally friendly.

Naturally this energy conservation only occurs, when the supply of the waste heat is
guaranteed and matches the heat demand from the production process. The total
fuel savings then additionally reduces the total CO2 emissions for production.

A system specifically designed by a specialist company that gains precise knowledge

of the energy flow of the production facility, is a necessity. Otherwise, if the exhaust
air volumes, the waste heat levels, the heat demands and the production cycles are
not correctly analysed, there is the danger that the heat savings will be wasted or the
system can become uneconomical. The expenditures required for a complete
analysis are worth it, as verified above. The best -designed exhaust air incineration
systems, engineered to avoid supplemental operating costs, can result in
considerable energy savings that also are good for the environment.

Classen Apparatebau Wiesloch GmbH

Adelsförsterpfad 5
D – 69168 Wiesloch
Tel.: +49 (0) 6222 – 57 26 0
Fax.: +49 (0) 6222 – 57 26 10
e-mail: info@Apparatebau-Wiesloch.de

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