Regenerative Thermal Oxidizer in the Solvent Recycling Industry

Trinity Air Technologiesy-Kleen Corporation operates a solvent recycling facility in Denton, Texas which reconditions a variety of industrial and commercial solvents for resale. Several different processing areas are dedicated to recycling such primary materials as dry cleaning solvent (perchloroethylene), paint spray gun cleaner (xylene) and carburetor cleaner (methylene chloride) along with other miscellaneous industrial solvents. These solvents are Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC's) which, when evaporated to their vapor form and released to the atmosphere, cause a depletion of the earth's protective ozone layer. The processing of these materials also endangers employees and neighbors by exposing them to potentially hazardous materials. Trinity Air Technologiesy-Kleen initiated the project in order to provide a cleaner and safer working environment for their employees, as well as meet the requirements of the 1990 Clean Air Act. <%=company%> and Trinity Contractors, Inc. provided and installed the facility-wide capture systems, duct systems and emissions abatement system. The capture hoods and process enclosures capture a minimum of 90% of the process emissions from each of the various operations and convey them through the system ductwork to the 50,000 SCFM DUAL-BED Regenerative Thermal Oxidizer which destroys a minimum of 98% of the captured emissions.

During the oxidation process the chlorinated solvents produce hydrogen chloride (HCL). In order to meet the EPA requirements for HCL emissions, a packed bed acid gas scrubber is provided to clean up the oxidizer exhaust air. The scrubber uses a mixture of water and sodium hydroxide to neutralize the incoming HCL-laden air. This generates harmless sodium chloride, or table salt, which is continuously removed by flushing them to the local sewer system. This $2,500,000 project received the highest "Excellence in Construction" Eagle award in the Public Works/ Environmental Category in National Associated Builders and Contractors competition.