Regenerative Thermal Oxidizers (RTO)

An installed regenerative thermal oxidizer unit

A regenerative thermal oxidizer (RTO) is an air pollution control device that destroys VOCs and hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) in industrial exhaust air. By using regenerative heat recovery, it achieves high fuel efficiency, often operating with 95% heat recovery.

Regenerative Thermal Oxidizers (RTO) are the technology of choice for most applications due to its high VOC destruction efficiency, low fuel use and long system life.
We changed our process to be more water based and less solvent based and now my oxidizer is burning a lot more gas. Is there anything we can do to reduce the amount of gas used?

Yes, we can evaluate the heat exchanger whether it be metal (recuperative) or ceramic media (regenerative) and determine whether it can be upgraded to a more efficient type. Or maybe catalyst could be added in this case. In some cases it may be better to replace the current oxidizer with something more efficient. In that case we can look at our inventory and determine whether we have something that will provide better gas efficiency. If not, we can provide a custom system designed specifically for your needs.

Would an induced draft fan be a better choice than a forced draft fan?

Solvents with a high boiling point can build up on a forced draft fan wheel

What does regenerative mean?

The term “regenerative” in regenerative thermal oxidizer is drawn from the type of ceramic media heat exchanger used in these systems. It is unique in that it captures heat from the exhausting, clean airstream during one cycle and releases the heat to the incoming, dirty airstream in the next cycle. The heat is captured (and released) from beds of ceramic media. The RTO incorporates switching valves to cycle the direction of the airflow through the RTO heat exchanger beds to enable regenerative heat recovery.

Can we install catalyst in our RTO?

In most cases, yes. But proper evaluation is recommended to establish that no potential catalyst poisons or masking agents are present in your airstream.

At what temperature does a regenerative thermal oxidizer operate?

RTOs typically operate at 1500o – 1600o Fahrenheit depending upon the VOC characteristics. Thermocouples inside the chamber monitor temperature and adjust gas burner firing as needed. Adequate temperature is essential to ensure VOC destruction efficiency. In most cases a data log of chamber temperature is required for air quality compliance.

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