A LOW COST CATALYTIC CERAMIC FILTER FOR SIMULTANEOUS VOC AND PARTICULATE REMOVAL

NUMEROUS INDUSTRIAL PLANTS ARE SOURCES OF LOW CONCENTRATIONS OF VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUNDS (VOC) WHICH ARE EMITTED INTO THE AIR, SOMETIMES IN HIGH FLOWS OF OFFGAS. SOME OF THE OFFGAS STREAMS MAY ALSO CONTAIN FINE PARTICULATE MATTER FROM 10 MICRONS TO THE SUBMICRON SIZE RANGE. THE VOC MAY CONDENSE ON THE FINE PARTICULATE MATTER WHICH, DUE TO ITS SIZE, CAN LODGE DEEP WITHIN THE LUNGS. MOST INDUSTRIAL SOURCES UTILIZE NO CONTROLS ON THESE OFFGAS STREAMS OR EMPLOY SYSTEMS TO CONTROL EITHER VOC OR PARTICULATE MATTER. UNDER THE 1990 AMENDMENTS TO THE CLEAN AIR ACT, THESE INDUSTRIAL SOURCES WILL BE REQUIRED TO REDUCE THE EMISSIONS OF CERTAIN VOC AND PARTICULATE MATTER. DURING PHASE I, A NOVEL APPROACH FOR SUMULTANEOUSLY REMOVING VOC AND FINE PARTICULATE MATTER WILL BE DEVELOPED AND DEMONSTRATED. A LOW COST CERAMIC FILTER IMPREGNATED WITH SUITABLE VOC OXIDATION CATALYST WILL BE INITIALLY TESTED IN A LABORATORY ON SIMULATED OFFGAS STREAMS AND THEN IN A FIELD TEST IN AN INDUSTRIAL PLANT THAT EMITS DILUTE VOC AND FINE PARTICULATE. IN PHASE II, A SKIDDED TEST UNIT CONTAINING FULL SIZE FILTERS WILL BE DEMONSTRATED AT MULTIPLE INDUSTRIAL PLANT SITES WHICH EMIT VARIOUS VOC AND PARTICULATE MATTER. IF SUCCESSFULLY DEVELOPED, THIS APPROACH WOULD ENABLE THE NUMEROUS INDUSTRIAL PLANTS WHICH EMIT LOW CONCENTRATIONS OF VOC AND FINE PARTICULATE TO SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCE THEIR EMISSIONS IN A LOW COST, COMPACT, RELIABLE DEVICE. THE DEVICE COULD BE EASILY RETROFITTED INTO EXISTING PLANT VENT SYSTEMS TO CONTROL EMISSIONS.