COMPREHENSIVE AIR POLLUTION CONTROL USING THE ELECTRON BEAM PROCESS

IN THIS RESEARCH, AN ELECTRON BEAM PROCESS WILL BE INVESTI- GATED WHICH HAS THE POTENTIAL TO DESTROY TOXIC MOLECULES SUCH AS DIOXINS, FURANS, AND POLYNUCLEAR AROMATIC HYDROCAR- CARBONS PRODUCED, FOR EXAMPLE, BY THE INCINERATION OF MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE. SOME ISOMERS OF THESE COMPOUNDS ARE HIGHLY TOXIC; THEREFORE,THE WORK WILL BE ACCOMPLISHED USING NON-TOXIC MODEL COMPOUNDS EXHIBITING CHEMICAL FUNCTIONAL GROUPS SIMILAR TO THE COMPOUNDS THEY SIMULATE. SINCE 300KV, 300MA ELECTRON BEAM ACCELERATORS MANUFACTURED BY ENERGY SCIENCES ALREADY HAVE BEEN USED IN A 20,000NM3/HR PILOT FACILITY TO IF RADICALS PRODUCED BY ENERGETIC ELECTRONINTERACTION WITH A BACKGROUND GAS (O2, H2O) WILL EITHER: 1) DISRUPT THE WEAKEST BONDS OF THE MODEL COMPOUND; OR 2) ABSTRACT ATOMS FORM THE MODEL COMPOUNDS TO FORM STABLE, SMALLER, NON-TOXIC MOLECULES, OR 3) FORM NON TOXIC COMPOUNDSTHROUGH ELECTRON BEAM INDUCED REACTIONS WITH CHEMICAL ADDI- TIVES. THE FORMATION OF NON-TOXIC MOLICULES BY THIS PROCESS WOULD INDICATE TOXIC COMPOUNDS COULD BE REMOVED FROM COMBUSTION FLUE GASES (WITHOUT SUBSEQUENTLY DEPOSITING THEM IN THE SOLID EFFLUENT REMOVED BY ELECTROSTATCI PRECIPITATORS FABRICFILERS) THEREFORE, POSITIVE RESULTS OF THIS PROPOSED RESEACH WOULD PROVIDE THE IMPETUS TO OPTIMIZE THE ELECTRON BEAM PROCESS RESULTING IN A SIGNIFICANT ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL TECHNOLOGY CAPABLE OF REMOVING NOT ONLY TOXIC ORGANIC COMPOUNDS BUT SO2, NOX, HCL AND HF AS WELL. THIS METHOD COULD BE USED AS A POLLUTION CONTROL SYSTEM FOR NEW OR RETROFIT INCINERATOR FACILITIES REQUIRING THE REMOVALOF SO2, NOX, HCL, HF, DIOXINS, FURANS, PAH AND OTHER PROD- UCTS OF INCOMPLETE COMBUSTION.