Our minds immediately turn to dry dust filtration equipment when we think of industrial dust collection. Plant emissions and air pollution can be controlled more effectively with a dynamic wet scrubber.
Scrubbing With Wet Scrubbers
Cleaning and scrubbing systems are systems used for removing, cleaning, or removing contaminants from an air stream using a cleaning solution. In addition to dust, particulates, gasses, oils, and mists, pollutants can also be found in the exhaust air and in gas streams from industrial processes. As part of its function, scrubbers closely mix pollutant-laden exhaust streams with liquids so that the pollutants can be captured by the liquids. Depending on the liquid, it can be organic or water-based.
Scrubbers Used For Wet Cleaning
Scrubbers vary in design depending on the nature and properties of the pollutants they are meant to capture:
- Amplification Plates: These plates cool, clean, absorb vapors and glass particles, and collect them. They are most useful when condensing and removing particulate matter is needed.
- Venturi: Succulents can be collected by these scrubbers, and they are used in high temperatures or highly corrosive environments.
- Eductor: A liquid concentrated into the throat of a venturi induces a gas flow to remove soluble gasses and particulates.
Moreover, they can be used as direct contact condensers, and to remove sticky or gummy gasses and particulates that decompose when they come in contact with water. - Packed Tower: They are used to remove gaseous contaminants from streams of air. They are capable of handling a variety of airflows and can exhaust noxious gas streams to the atmosphere while ventilating harmful, toxic gas streams.
What to Do When Using a Wet Scrubber
Wet scrubbers are better suited to cleaning dust and pollutants that a dry collector cannot handle, as described above.
Dusts That Can Ignite/Be Hazardous
Collecting combustible dust particulates with wet scrubbers is a safer option. Water, used as a collection medium, prevents dust clouds and explosions by saturating the air stream and wetting the dust. As long as the medium is not combustible, there is no threat of an ignition source. Dry fine metals, chemicals, and many organic materials can be combustible.
Gasses At High Temperatures
No special design considerations or replacement parts are required for wet scrubbers to handle high-temperature applications. Furnaces, kilns, and incinerators require very high temperatures for various processes.
As long as water is not added to a wet scrubber system, it can be quenched prior to the scrubber’s inlet without affecting its operation. As a result of the pre-quench section and scrubber, the pre-quench section can handle temperatures of up to 2,000°F. As opposed to dry baghouse technology, conventional baghouses are only available for temperatures up to 550 degrees Fahrenheit. In addition, the initial costs associated with dry baghouses are exponentially higher at higher temperatures.
Hydrocarbon Stream Moisture
Dry dust collectors can be damaged by moisture-containing processes by clogging filter bags, plugging equipment, and altering pressure. The moist gas stream does not cause the problems found in a dry dust collector because wet scrubbers use water to saturate the gas stream.
A dust collector collects dust as the air or gas used in the process drives moisture out of a product in equipment like dryers and kilns. As dry dust collectors for this application typically require compressed air, insulation, or auxiliary heat, wet scrubbers should not be affected by this moist or wet air.
Contaminants in Particulates and Gasses
A wet scrubber may be able to collect both gaseous contaminants and particulate contaminants from the air they are scrubbing. Unlike dry dust collectors, wet scrubbers can collect both gasses and particulates. The gasses would need to be removed with additional equipment.
