One of today’s most widely accepted air pollution control technologies across the industry is the Carbon Adsorber.
Gulf Coast Environmental Systems Carbon Adsorbers are necessary when you are trying to accomplish three things: VOC Abatement, Low NOX & Solvent Recovery.
In a Carbon Adsorber, a contaminated process stream flows across an activated carbon bed. The carbon removes the VOCs from the process stream and absorbs them, holding them on the surface and in its pores. The VOC-free air is exhausted to atmosphere. Carbon is a great adsorber of organic materials like low molecular weight VOCs.
When the carbon bed has reached its capacity, the concentrated VOCs are desorbed into a low pressure steam flow and either recycled or sent to a Thermal Oxidizer for destruction.
When considering a Carbon Adsorber, the process stream must be low in moisture and particulate. Carbon will absorb the moisture and can be clogged by too much particulate. In some cases a dryer and a prefilter will be needed depending upon the makeup of the process stream.
Interested in a Carbon Adsorber at your location? Contact GCES and talk with one of our experienced engineers today.
Solvent Recovery Systems
Adsorption
Adsorption is a filtration method used to remove volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from waste gas. The gas flows through an activated carbon bed that traps the VOC particulates on its surface. Various types of activated carbon are often used in adsorption systems.
Carbon is thermally or chemically activated with the objective of providing a large surface area. One way of considering carbons potential is to consider that 1 pound of carbon has more than 100 acres of surface, which enables activated carbon to have the tremendous ability to adsorb VOCs.
Initially for carbon adsorber system design we study the isotherm(s) for particular VOCs. Other considerations include air volume, pressure, elevation, relative humidity, temperature, and the potential effects of multiple compounds in the airstream. Adsorption is a heat-sensitive and relative humidity sensitive process. Additional considerations are particulate, oils, or other contaminants that my blind the carbon from adsorbing VOC at optimal rates.
While the top layers of the lightly packed carbon bed may attain high working saturation during the adsorption mode approaching those of the isotherm, the last third of the bed is basically a polishing zone. The effect leads to an empirical dynamic working capacity of 15% to 25% of the value given by the isotherm.