The other day we talked about some options that you should look for in your RTO in order to stop plugging before it starts. What other pre-treatment options can be used?

Pre-treatment options include a final filter prior to the oxidizer. Paint spray booths typically have dry filters or water wash filtering. As precaution we recommend the addition of a final filter prior to the oxidizer to protect from filter breaks upstream or improper filter installation.

When you have organic particulate in your airstream how do you control it? Are you just plain stuck with it? Not exactly. The best time to address the potential for particulate entering the RTO is before the RTO is selected. Regenerative thermal oxidizer features can address small quantities of particulates, but sometimes pre-treatment is required. Some features that address the presence of small quantities particulate are proper media selection and bake-out.

How do you know if you have plugging of the ceramic media in your regenerative thermal oxidizer?  Some manufacturers install pressure gauges to monitor pressure drop across the bed. Others utilize differential pressure transducers to identify pressure increases across the bed, and then initiate an alarm if it exceeds a pre-determined limit.

Regenerative thermal oxidizers utilize a bed of ceramic media that acts as a heat sink, absorbing and giving off heat to an airstream containing VOC’s. This ceramic media is thermally stable and especially suited for regenerative thermal oxidizer use. It's also formulated to have void space throughout the ceramic media bed that offers a path for air to pass through the bed. Some ceramic media is made of loose, smaller pieces that are poured into a bed, while other media is structured, with less void space and smaller airflow paths.

Friday we talked about the availability of used air pollution control systems, and the importance of selecting a well built system. Whether you are selecting new or used equipment, quality components are the backbone of a quality system. Inferior components make an inferior system. In fact, just having one inferior component makes an entire system inferior.

It may not always be the best idea to go to a broker, since they may only understand your production and not necessarily oxidizers themselves. So is it a good idea to go straight to an OEM, even if you're looking for used air pollution equipment? 
 

Some companies would not even consider a used thermal oxidizer. One of the common sayings about purchasing anything used is, "You're inheriting someone else's problems." Other people may decide that since thermal oxidizers do nothing for your production except cost money to install and operate, used equipment is preferable since it's cheaper. Are either of those opinions correct? Are you truly inheriting someone else's problems, and does it really matter whether you buy used or new? 
 

So we've checked out the heat exchanger and catalyst bed, and something's still not right. What's your next step? Next you should check your burner. 
 

Yesterday, we talked about the importance of your catalyst bed in VOC destruction. How do you visually inspect the catalyst bed in your catalytic oxidizer? What are you looking for? 
 
If you have a monolith (block) catalyst, you'll want to check for loose hold-down clamps or a damaged gasket. Loose catalyst blocks or damaged gasket and seals can allow the bypass of air around the blocks, reducing VOC destruction. 
 

Last week we talked about the importance of a fully functional heat exhanger (both plate type and shell and tube type) in your catalytic oxidizer in order to ensure VOC destruction. Once the heat exchanger integrity is verified, what if you're still not getting optimal VOC destruction? If that's the case, you should probably check your catalyst bed.