REDUCTION OF SULFUR DIOXIDE EMISSIONS FROM SMELTER OVENS

SULFUR DIOXIDE AND NITROGEN OXIDES ARE THE CHIEF PRECURSORS OF ACID RAIN, AND THEIR CONTINUED EMISSION INTO THE ATMOSPHERE HAS BECOME A GLOBAL CONCERN. IT IS ESTIMATED THAT 23.4 MILLION TONS ARE EMITTED FROM INDUSTRIAL PROCESSESYEARLY, MAINLY FROM NONFERROUS METAL SMELTING OPERATIONS. NONFERROUS METALS, INCLUDING COPPER, NICKEL, ZINC, LEAD, AND MOLYBDENUM, ARE MINED AS METAL SULFIDES, AND THE METAL IS LIBERATED BY ROASTING THE SULFIDES IN A SMELTER OVEN. THE SMELTER OVEN IS FED WITH AIR OR OXYGEN-ENRICHED AIR AND PRODUCES AN OFFGAS CONTAINING LARGE AMOUNTS OF SULFUR DIOXIDE. MEMBRANE TECHNOLOGY AND RESEARCH, INC., HAS DEVELOPED A CLASS OF MEMBRANES THAT IS EXTREMELY SELECTIVE FOR SULFUR DIOXIDE OVER OTHER GASES. IN THE PHASE I PROGRAM, A LABORATORY SYSTEM THAT INCLUDES A SPIRAL-WOUND MODULE CONTAINING THE NEW MEMBRANE WILL BE TESTED FOR ITS SULFUR DIOXIDE REMOVAL CAPABILITY. AN APPLICATION STUDY WILL BE PERFORMED TO IDENTIFY THE MOST EFFICIENT METHODS TO IMPROVE SULFUR DIOXIDE CAPTURE. SULFUR DIOXIDE AND NITROGEN OXIDES ARE THE CHIEF PRECURSORS OF ACID RAIN, AND THEIR CONTINUED EMISSION INTO THE ATMOSPHERE HAS BECOME A GLOBAL CONCERN. IT IS ESTIMATED THAT 23.4 MILLION TONS ARE EMITTED FROM INDUSTRIAL PROCESSESYEARLY, MAINLY FROM NONFERROUS METAL SMELTING OPERATIONS. NONFERROUS METALS, INCLUDING COPPER, NICKEL, ZINC, LEAD, AND MOLYBDENUM, ARE MINED AS METAL SULFIDES, AND THE METAL IS LIBERATED BY ROASTING THE SULFIDES IN A SMELTER OVEN. THE SMELTER OVEN IS FED WITH AIR OR OXYGEN-ENRICHED AIR AND PRODUCES AN OFFGAS CONTAINING LARGE AMOUNTS OF SULFUR DIOXIDE. MEMBRANE TECHNOLOGY AND RESEARCH, INC., HAS DEVELOPED A CLASS OF MEMBRANES THAT IS EXTREMELY SELECTIVE FOR SULFUR DIOXIDE OVER OTHER GASES. IN THE PHASE I PROGRAM, A LABORATORY SYSTEM THAT INCLUDES A SPIRAL-WOUND MODULE CONTAINING THE NEW MEMBRANE WILL BE TESTED FOR ITS SULFUR DIOXIDE REMOVAL CAPABILITY. AN APPLICATION STUDY WILL BE PERFORMED TO IDENTIFY THE MOST EFFICIENT METHODS TO IMPROVE SULFUR DIOXIDE CAPTURE. SULFUR DIOXIDE AND NITROGEN OXIDES ARE THE CHIEF PRECURSORS OF ACID RAIN, AND THEIR CONTINUED EMISSION INTO THE ATMOSPHERE HAS BECOME A GLOBAL CONCERN. IT IS ESTIMATED THAT 23.4 MILLION TONS ARE EMITTED FROM INDUSTRIAL PROCESSESYEARLY, MAINLY FROM NONFERROUS METAL SMELTING OPERATIONS. NONFERROUS METALS, INCLUDING COPPER, NICKEL, ZINC, LEAD, AND MOLYBDENUM, ARE MINED AS METAL SULFIDES, AND THE METAL IS LIBERATED BY ROASTING THE SULFIDES IN A SMELTER OVEN. THE SMELTER OVEN IS FED WITH AIR OR OXYGEN-ENRICHED AIR AND PRODUCES AN OFFGAS CONTAINING LARGE AMOUNTS OF SULFUR DIOXIDE. MEMBRANE TECHNOLOGY AND RESEARCH, INC., HAS DEVELOPED A CLASS OF MEMBRANES THAT IS EXTREMELY SELECTIVE FOR SULFUR DIOXIDE OVER OTHER GASES. IN THE PHASE I PROGRAM, A LABORATORY SYSTEM THAT INCLUDES A SPIRAL-WOUND MODULE CONTAINING THE NEW MEMBRANE WILL BE TESTED FOR ITS SULFUR DIOXIDE REMOVAL CAPABILITY. AN APPLICATION STUDY WILL BE PERFORMED TO IDENTIFY THE MOST EFFICIENT METHODS TO IMPROVE SULFUR DIOXIDE CAPTURE.