Acid gases from power plants and boiler combustion, such as sulfur dioxide and hydrogen sulfide, pose a major threat to human health and the environment. The primary methods by which acid gases are deposited include acid rain and dry deposition. The consequences of acid rains are devastating: the presence of dead or dying plant life is one of the first signs that an area is affected by acid gases. Acid rain depletes soil from minerals, nutrients, and leach aluminum from the soil, which is harmful to animal life. Acidic fog and mist also present danger to plant life, as they might strip nutrients from trees’ foliage, which makes them less able to absorb sunlight. If the presence of acid-based compounds is high enough, the inhalation of these gases can cause the breakdown of respiratory and skin cells.

As acid gases are dangerous to biomass, the amount of the gases present in the atmosphere and the presence of these gases during combustion at power plants is regulated by government agencies. Manufacturers and representatives of the industries that result in acid gas production are forced to install pollution control devices to control the acid gas emissions. Burning fuel for power or steam generation creates acid gases: fuel contains sulfur and nitrogen-based compounds that are the basis of acid gases. SOx and NOx are the main components of acid gases.

The most common solutions to acid gas control are wet air scrubbers and DSI systems. Wet scrubbers work by passing the polluted air through a mist composed of small water or other cleaning liquid droplets. Wet scrubbers can utilize a variety of bases to accomplish acid neutralization. Among wet air scrubbers, the most common ones are venturi scrubbers, packed bed scrubbers, and cyclone scrubbers. DSI systems inject a dry chemical sorbent into the flue gas.

Wet air scrubbers tend to be more economical in terms of operational costs, but they necessitate an upfront investment; dry systems, like DSI systems, have low capital costs, but are relatively inefficient in the use of the sorbent, which causes high operating costs. Wet scrubbers have higher removal efficiencies than dry systems.

A new type of wet air scrubber, Scroiler™ cleans air from gases, dust, vapors, and other admixtures using water or other cleaning liquid. Scroiler™ produces the cleaning mist differently from other scrubber systems, which results in running costs that are much lower than for a common wet air scrubber. Scroiler™ is the new type of wet air scrubber that saves water.

If you are interested in Scroiler™, please contact us at info@optromix.com