CONTROL OF HIGH-VOLUME, LOW-VOC-CONCENTRATION AIR STREAMS

High-volume, low-VOC-concentration air streams are produced by a broad range ofindustries. The most widely used conventional treatment technology is carbonadsorption. However, carbon adsorption produces dilute aqueous waste streams asa secondary waste, is difficult to adapt to particulate-containing streams, andis too expensive to be applied by some industries. Wet scrubbing the air is alow-cost alternative technology, but it is generally limited to scrubbing withwater because of the expense and difficulty of regenerating non-aqueous scrubbingliquids. The technology proposed here uses a low volatility organic scrubbingliquid to remove VOCs from the dilute air stream. The liquid is regenerated bya combined stripper/membrane vapor separation unit. In Phase I, the technicaland economic feasibility of the scrubbing liquid regeneration step will beevaluated in laboratory tests with an existing stripper/pilot-scale membranesystem. In Phase II, a scrubber will be added to the system for evaluation ofthe complete process.