Regenerative catalytic oxidizer technology for VOC control

Publisher Summary The regenerative catalytic oxidizer (RCO) technology has evolved significantly as an efficient method to control volatile organic compounds. The RCO technology favors using oxide catalysts because it allows for easy compensation of lower activity by an increase in the catalyst amount or temperature. Heat transfer and accumulation properties of ceramic packing material strongly influence RCO performance. The rate of heat transfer affects the temperature gradients along the bed length that, in turn, determine the volume of material required to preheat the gas to the temperature of catalytic or thermal oxidation. During the catalyst operation, it gradually becomes less active and must be eventually replaced. The factors affecting the catalyst lifetime include high temperature, catalytic poisons, and masking agents. Compounds of halogens and sulfur are the most common catalyst poisons. Temperature control, poison tolerant catalysts, and gas-flow pretreatment are used to reduce the impact of catalyst deactivation. This chapter also presents the behavior of an RCO when the catalyst deactivates, and proposes strategies ensuring the required performance during the entire catalyst lifetime.