Purification of Volatile Organic Compounds in Channeled Ventilation Pipes at the Sysav Water Treatment Plant for Hazardous Waste

Sammanfattning: Several channeled emissions at the Sysav water treatment plant for hazardous waste as of December 2021 exceed permitted levels of unknown volatile organic compounds (VOCs) stated in the European Parliament councils’ directives 2010/75/EU. A range of possible treatment methods are briefly discussed before zeolite adsorption, and thermal regeneration followed by catalytic combustion is decided to be the method of greatest feasibility and is the subject of further investigation. The zeolite suggested is faujasite zeolite of high silica content (Faujasite (Y) HY901) due to its large pore sizes and hydrophobic nature. The catalyst suggested is a manganese oxide (Mn3O4) due to its lower cost than that of noble-metal catalysts, as catalyst poisons present may result in rapid deterioration of the catalyst. A process flow chart is presented, which includes two parallel zeolite beds that operate in shifts, followed by catalytic combustion. Heat recovery is possible, and a heat exchanger is implemented after combustion to heat the regenerative air flow. The process is modeled as steady-state, and results include general dimensions as well as capital and operational costs. Calculated with the software EconExpert, the resulting capital costs as estimated are 12,-800,000 SEK. Operational costs are approximately 200,-000 SEK/year after two years. For future work, it is of crucial importance to determine what VOCs are present for accurate modeling and predictions.