Problem
One of the world's largest printed circuit board (PCB)
manufacturers was required to install air pollution abatement
equipment to control the VOCs emitted during their soldering and
coating process. Three main considerations were important to the
customer:
- The need for a system with a competitive capital cost and the
lowest possible operating cost
- The ability to engineer a system that did not affect the
sensitive production process
- The necessity to install a compliant system as quickly as
possible
Action
After a detailed technical evaluation, the company selected
Anguil Environmental Systems, Inc. to solve their VOC emissions
problem and to place them in compliance. Anguil installed a Model
200 Regenerative Catalytic Oxidation (RCO) system that meets all
applicable regulatory requirements and offers significant operating
cost savings.
Solution
One advantage of Anguil's application-specific method is that it
provides the customer with the most effective solution for their
particular needs. After studying this customer's PCB production
process and associated emissions, Anguil recommended the unique
solution of a 20,000 SCFM/32,000 Nm3/h Regenerative Catalytic
Oxidizer (RCO).
Regenerative catalytic oxidation offers a blend of two proven
emission control technologies to provide the lowest operating costs
for the customer. Catalytic oxidation has been an effective VOC
control technology for many years; it was developed to oxidize VOCs
at low temperatures and to reduce the high operating costs of
direct-flame thermal oxidation. Regenerative thermal oxidation has
been used frequently in the past decade; it is designed to capture
the energy released during oxidation to reduce operating costs.
Regenerative catalytic oxidation combines these two technologies to
further optimize fuel effieciency.
In the Anguil Twin Bed Regenerative Catalytic Oxidizer, the
VOC-laden process exhaust is heated as it passes through the first
ceramic media bed located in an energy recovery chamber. The
process air moves from this energy recovery chamber into the
catalytic combustion chamber, where the VOCs are then oxidized,
releasing heat energy into a second recovery chamber. A
flow-control valve switches the airflow direction so that energy
transfer to the ceramic media in both energy recovery beds are
fully utilized, thereby reducing any auxiliary fuel requirement.
This system is designed for a heat recovery of over 95% and is
self-sustaining, requiring no added auxiliary fuel even with low
VOC loadings. This efficient energy recovery means the Anguil RCO
has significantly lower operating costs than other emission
treatment methods.
Many factors are involved in designing a system that maintains low
operating costs. For this customer, high auxiliary fuel (natural
gas) costs made the extremely low fuel consumption of the RCO an
appealing option. The addition of a catalyst in the RCO reaction
chamber lowers the VOC destruction temperature and allows for
operation with lower fuel consumption than a Regenerative Thermal
Oxidation systems. Anguil provided operating cost calculations
demonstrating that the fuel savings of the RCO would provide a full
recovery of the catalyst cost in less than twelve months of
operation.
The next design consideration was the engineering of a system that
did not effect the PCB production process. PCB manufacturing, like
many other Electronics industry applications, requires carefully
controlled environments. It is essential that a pollution control
system does not exert significant back-pressure on the finely
balanced production process and adversely affect the final PCB
product. To ensure production quality, Anguil designed the RCO with
a unique flow-control valving arrangement that prevented any
back-pressure from altering the exhaust airflow from the
manufacturing process.
The final project consideration was satisfying the customer's
stringent time frame. From the outset, Anguil worked with the
customer to develop a detailed project management schedule.
Anguil's complete turnkey installation of the RCO provided single
source responsibility; the pre-assembled, pre-wired, and pre-tested
system was installed by Anguil's experienced installation team. The
rapid integration of the system into the plant's operations meant
minimal downtime and ensured proven emission compliance.
The system is operating and providing VOC destruction efficiency
well above required levels. Once again, Anguil's engineering
expertise, innovative technology solutions and turnkey capabilities
resulted in a satisfied customer.