| Summary: |
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are compounds with high vapor pressure and a low solubility in water and may be aromatic hydrocarbons, chlorinated hydrocarbons, alcohols, acids, aldehydes, esters, ketones, aliphatic compounds, etc.
These compounds are harmful to human health and considered air pollutants.
The sources of VOCs may be natural or from human activity, particularly related to the use of fuels and solvents in home and industrial environments.
Due to its harmful properties and the progressive increase in their emissions, the release of VOCs into the environment has been controlled by increasingly stringent legislation.
Thus, the development and application of techniques for removal of VOCs to the Portuguese industry is of major importance in order to successfully fulfill the Portuguese regulation.
There are various techniques for removal of VOCs, including their recovery (absorption, adsorption, condensation) or destruction (oxidation). The catalytic oxidation is considered a promising technology for removal of VOCs because it allows its complete transformation into environmentally harmless compounds. However, in the case of effluent streams with low concentrations of VOCs, catalytic oxidation is not economically attractive.
The combination of adsorption techniques, to achieve a prior concentration of VOCs, with the catalytic oxidation technique will allow the use of more favorable economic conditions for the removal of these compounds in exhaust gas with high flow and low concentrations of VOCs.
Thus, this project aims to design and develop a system of removal / elimination by adsorption and catalytic oxidation of VOCs from gaseous streams from the leather varnish production.
The proposed project aims to carry on the knowledge obtained through the development of a prototype for removal of VOCs by adsorption / oxidation for industrial application. |