Regenerative Thermal Oxidizer (RTO)

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One of today’s most widely accepted air pollution control technologies across industry is a Regenerative Thermal Oxidizer, commonly referred to as a RTO.  They are very versatile and extremely efficient – heat recovery efficiency can reach 97%.  This is achieved through the storage of heat by dense ceramic stoneware.  Regenerative Thermal Oxidizers are ideal in low VOC concentrations and during long continuous operations. 

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Shipping of a 2-Canister Regenerative Thermal Oxidizer

Flow Diagrams of a 2-Canister RTO:

The method of reduction of Volatile Organic Compounds in a Regenerative Thermal Oxidizer revolves around thermal oxidation. The chemical process of thermal oxidation is quite simple; the exhaust stream temperature is raised to a point that the chemical bonds that hold the volatile organic molecules together are broken.  The VOCs in the process exhaust stream are converted to carbon dioxide, H2O, and thermal energy by the high temperature of the combustion chamber.

The process of regenerative thermal oxidation operates around two energy recovery chambers in use on the system, which are the housings for the ceramic heat recovery media.  The ceramic heat recovery media acts as a heat exchanger for the system.  The two chambers operate under a “swing bed” absorption principle: which is the principle of transfer through two beds by the use of flow reversal.  In the use of this principle with ceramic stoneware, the process is called regeneration.

As the dirty exhaust stream travels through the first bed of ceramic media, the exhaust stream adsorbs the heat energy stored in the ceramic media mass, which pre-heats the exhaust stream.  The exhaust stream then enters the burner reactor chamber, where heat energy is added from the burner to reach the system operating temperature.  After the temperature has been elevated and retained for 1 second, the clean exhaust stream then passes through the second energy recovery chamber.  As the exhaust stream passes through the chamber, the cold ceramic media mass absorbs the heat energy of the exhaust stream, and stores the heat energy for the reverse flow of the system.  Once the heat energy of the first chamber has been depleted through the absorption of the incoming air stream, the flow through the system is rotated, so the incoming dirty air stream is then directed through the previous absorption chamber, with the clean waste gas now going through the previous chamber.  In a unit with three chambers, the same principle applies, but there are now three different cycles available.  The chamber not part of a cycle is used for purging the RTO.  This allows for a greater achievable destruction efficiency of the VOCs.

By using the reversal of exhaust flow through the ceramic beds, a minimal amount of heat energy needs to be added to the incoming exhaust stream to maintain the systems minimum operating temperature. The sizing of the ceramic media beds is such that a maximum of 95% heat recovery efficiency is possible through the regenerating, reversal flow process.

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