Removal of VOCs from wood processing ventilation air by advanced oxidation gas-to-particle prototype system

Industrial gaseous emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) may result in adverse effects to en-vironment and human health, thus must be removed from flue gas before emitted to the atmosphere. Here we present a study of a real-world testing of a novel hybrid gas-to-particle conversion system targeting VOC removal from the ventilation air originating at wood processing facilities. Terpenes (primarily alpha-pinene, beta-pinene, and alpha-terpineol) were targeted as the prevailing VOCs. The system was realized as a single-pass reactor having multiple stages of plasmolysis/ozonolysis, photolysis, nucleation, coagulation and agglom-eration of aerosols, as well as precipitation of agglomerates in an electrostatic field. The VOC removal ef-ficiency in terms of total VOCs (TVOCs) has reached 92.8%, while 100% removal efficiency of alpha-pinene, beta-pinene, and alpha-terpineol was achieved with the non-thermal plasma (NTP) operating at a specific energy input (SEI) of 3.6 J/L (42 J/L of entire system). The advanced gas-phase oxidation system proved to be competitive in treating VOC polluted flue gases in terms of removal efficiency and relatively low energy input. The results hereafter promote faster development and extensive industrial application of gas-phase advanced oxidations systems based on the gas-to-particle conversion process.(c) 2022 Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

This study presents a real-world testing of a novel hybrid gas-to-particle conversion system for the removal of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from wood processing facilities. The system utilizes plasmolysis/ozonolysis, photolysis, nucleation, coagulation and agglomeration of aerosols, and precipitation of agglomerates in an electrostatic field to achieve efficient VOC removal. The results show a VOC removal efficiency of 92.8%, with 100% removal efficiency for specific VOCs. The gas-phase advanced oxidation system demonstrates competitive performance in treating VOC polluted flue gases with relatively low energy input.