CE 495/MEV 584 Air Quality Management

Saint Martin’s University

Departments of Civil Engineering & Environmental
Engineering
Lacey, Washington

October 11, 2024

Prof. Tapas K. Das, PhD, PE, BCEE, FAIChE

E-mail: [email protected]
 Ch. 8 - Introduction to Auxiliary
Equipment:
Hoods, Ducts, Fans, and Coolers
• Homework Review
• Auxiliary equipment is often given only cursory attention during the
design process; nevertheless, it is very important to the proper
functioning of the final system
• An indoor process area must be properly ventilated; an outdoor
process must be exhausted through a closed duct system
• The contaminated air must be moved with proper velocity from the
source point in the plant, through the ducts, into a final control device
(FCD), and out the exhaust stack
• The airstream often must be cooled before routing through an FCD.
Proper design or selection of auxiliaries permits economical
operation of the pollution control system while meeting performance
standards; improper design results in higher-than-necessary costs and
possibly unacceptable performance of the system
 Hoods
• Hoods are used to gather contaminants (gases or particles)
from the workplace air
• As a hood gathers contaminants, it also collects significant
volumes of ambient air. As the distance between a source
and a hood increases, so does the resulting total volumetric
flow rate of air into the hood
• Since the cost of' most pollution control systems is
proportional to the total volumetric flow rate, the type, size,
and location of the hood are important
• Proper hood design protects the workers' breathing zone
while allowing them access to the equipment, and yet
minimizes airflow requirements
• The lower the airflow, the lower the total cost of the
ventilation and control system.
 Hoods Cont….
The three main types of hoods are: (1) Enclosures; (2) Canopy hoods,
and (3) Capturing hoods, as shown in Figure 8.1
Hoods Cont….
• Canopy hoods are common for exhausting
heated open-top tanks. They are used mainly
for exhausting hot air or for removing excess
humidity. Under most conditions, however,
they are of limited value.
• Typically, canopy hoods have much lower
airflow rates than capturing hoods, and they
will not work to exhaust unheated tanks.
They should not be used for venting
hazardous components.
Circular Canopy Hoods
 Capturing Hood
• The objective of a capturing hood is to create "directional air
currents of sufficiently high velocity to capture contaminants
in the workroom air near the hood". This objective includes
only contaminants released in the direction of the hood, but
also those released in the opposite direction. A minimum
design capture velocity of 50 to 100 ft/min (for slow release
of contaminants)
• However, the minimum design capture velocity could be
from 500 to 1000 ft/min if contaminants are released with
high velocity into turbulent air. The federal Occupational
Safety and Health Act (OSHA) required the establishment of
numerous performance and design standards for ventilation
systems. There are OSHA standards for specific substances,
for specific operations, and for specific hoods.
 Enclosure Hood: Velocity Pressure
and Static Pressure
• Enclosure hoods completely enclose the process release point
and are designed to provide face velocities (average air
velocities into the hood across the open face area) ranging
from 100 to 200 ft/min.
• By multiplying the face velocity times the area, the total
required volumetric flow rate can be calculated.
• Air flowing in a duct has a velocity pressure (VP) that increases
with its velocity. The static pressure (SP) loss due to turbulence
created during air entry into the hood is related to the duct air
velocity pressure by a hood entry loss factor Fh, which is
multiplied by the duct VP.
• Some hood entry loss factors are given in Table 8.1, along with
corresponding SP losses in units of inches of water.
Table 8.1: Hood Types. Entry Loss
Factor and Static Pressure Losses
Fig. 8.3 Friction Losses for Air in
Circular Ducts
Table 8.2: Fitting Pressure Loss
Factors and Equivalent Duct
Lengths
Example 8.1, p. 274
Solution to Example 8.1
Example 8.2: Calculate Actual
Pressure Loss

Calculate the actual pressure loss expected

when moving 10,000 acfm of air (at 500 OF
and 1 atm) through 250 feet of straight duct
(20-inch diameter, circular cross-section).
Assume a flanged hood opening. The air
must also pass through a control device with
a rated pressure drop of 5.0 in. H2() at 110
O
F and 1 atm.
Solution to Example 8.2 (p.
276-277
 Fans
• Fans provide the energy needed to move air through hoods,
ducts, and control equipment. Fans move air and provide a total
pressure gain to overcome the pressure losses created when air
flows through the ducting and control devices
• Most fan rating tables give data in terms of fan static pressure
(FSP). The fan static pressure is the fan total pressure minus the
fan outlet velocity pressure. The fan total pressure is simply the
TP at the fan outlet minus the total pressure (TP) at the fan
inlet.
• Whether airflow is increased by reducing the system resistance
or by increasing the fan power, there is a unique point of
operation for every fan—duct system. That point is defined by
the intersection of the fan curve with the system resistance
curve, as shown in Figure 8.5.
Fig. 8.5. The System Resistance
Curve and
the Fan Operating Curve
 Fan Curves
• The performance of a fan is summarized by its "fan
curves," which present quantitatively the relationships
among airflow, static pressure delivered, brake
horsepower, and mechanical efficiency
• In general, centrifugal fans with backward inclined
blades are desirable for their stable, efficient operation
• However, backward inclined fans must operate in
relatively dust-free environments; for dusty air, radial
or straight blade fans are better
• A typical fan curve for a backward inclined fan is
presented in
Figure 8.7
Fig. 8.7: A Typical Fan Curve for
a Backward Inclined Fan
 Fan Laws
For a given fan, as the speed of rotation is increased, both the
airflow rate and the static pressure are increased. Similarly,
for two geometrically similar fans at constant speeds of
rotation, the larger fan produces more flow at a higher
pressure. Of course, the higher performance means more
power consumption in both of these cases. The quantitative
relationships among speed of rotation, airflow rate, and static
pressure are known as the fan laws, which are:
Example 8.3 and Solution
Using Fan Laws
 In-Class Problem 8.1 p. 310

A process in a plant is to be revised such

that the airflow rate through a system
will increase from 8000 cfm to 10,000
cfm. The existing fan runs at 1600 rpm
and provides 6.0 in. H2O SP (static
pressure).
Estimate the new speed required for this
fan and the new SP.
Problem 8.2 p. 310

The existing fan in Problem 8.1 has a 15

hp motor; if fan plus drive losses are
estimated to be 35%, will a new motor
be needed?
Fig. 8.8: Fan Diagram Illustrating
Application of the fan Laws
Example 8.4 p.285
Example 8.5 p. 285
 Fan Rating Tables 8.7 p. 287-
290
• Every fan has a separate fan curve for each speed. Fan
rating tables, supplied by fan manufacturers for
homologous (geometrically similar) families of fans,
cover the entire range of operating points for fans.
• One Table is supplied for each size of fan, and each
table gives data for Q, SP, N, and w at many points.
• Very large ranges of airflow rates and static pressures
can be obtained within a geometrically similar family.
• For values between tabular entries, we use linear
interpolation. Table 8.7 provides some fan rating tables
adapted from the Chicago Blower Corporation (2009),
and Example 8.6 illustrates their use.
Example 8.6 and Solution p.
286
 Cooling Hot Airstreams (p.
294-296)
• Process exhaust gas is often hot and must be cooled
before it is routed through control equipment
• Depending on the cooling method, the volumetric
flow rate of the cooled gas might be reduced, thus
decreasing the required size of downstream control
equipment, ducts, and fans
• Thus, installing equipment to cool hot exhaust gases
can make good economic sense, even if the heat is
not recovered
• With the current high cost of energy, recovering a
portion of the heat is almost always cost-effective
 Air Dilution p. 294
Air dilution is one of the easiest methods for cooling hot airstreams. However,
unless the gas is very hot and the target cool temperature is substantially above the
ambient temperature, the final air volume can be very large. Solving the material
and energy balance equations (assuming the heat capacity for air is virtually
constant over the temperature range of interest), and applying the ideal gas law
leads to:
 Water Injection p. 294-295
• Water injection cools very efficiently because of the high heat of
vaporization of water. As the water is sprayed into the mixing chamber
evaporates, the water absorbs considerable heat from the airstream,
thus lowering the air temperature.
• The final volume of the cooled stream is considerably less than if air
dilution were used, but the resulting humidity of the stream can be very
high, which can cause problems in downstream units. The material and
enthalpy balances are:
 Heat Exchanger p. 296-300

• The three main advantages of using a heat exchanger to cool

the exhaust gases are (1) the final air volume is the smallest of
the three cooling methods, (2) there is no increase in
moisture content of the gases (although the relative humidity
increases as the temperature decreases), and (3) heat energy
($) can be recovered
• The two main disadvantages are (1) the capital cost of
purchasing and installing the heat exchanger and (2) the
operating and maintenance costs of running the heat
exchanger
• A popular type of heat exchanger is the shell-and-tube heat
exchanger, an example of which is depicted in Figure 8.10
(p.297)
Fig. 8.10: A Shell-and-Tube
Heat Exchanger
 Costs: (1) Hoods and (2)
Ducts
The U.S. EPA (2002) has published costs for various
types of hoods (including canopy, push-pull, and
slotted) made of various materials (including
fiberglass, PVC plastic, polypropylene, and galvanized
steel). Based on price quotes from four different
vendors, EPA correlated the prices with the hood face
area in the form of a power law. Interested readers are
referred to the EPA Air Pollution Control Cost Manual
(2002) for details. In many instances, however, the
fabrication of a hood is a customized application that is
highly site specific. It is probably best to obtain quotes
from local fabricators when estimating the costs of
hoods.
Costs Cont….
Table 8.9: Parameters for
Estimating 1993
Costs of Straight Ducts
 What have we learned today?
• Individual/Group Discussion
• Conclusions
 Chapters 11 - VOC
Incinerators
• Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) make up a major class of air
pollutants. This class includes not only pure hydrocarbons but
also partially oxidized hydrocarbons (organic acids, aldehydes,
ketones),

• Within this class there are hundreds of individual compounds,

each with its own properties and characteristics. These VOCs are
emitted from combustion processes, from many types of industrial
operations, and from solvent evaporation, among other sources.

•One method of pollution control that can be applied broadly to

VOCs is incineration. Here, we will concentrate on the problem of
incineration of VOC vapors, specifically from case studies in
printing operations (Chapter 17)

•OCT 18 MIDTERM EXAM REVIEW & SUGGESTIONS,

 Objectives: VOC Incinerators
• Note that vapor incinerators (also called thermal
oxidizers or afterburners) can sometimes be used
successfully for air polluted with small particles of
combustible solids or liquids.
• Incineration can be used for odor control, to destroy a
toxic compound, or to reduce the quantity of
photochemically reactive VOCs released to the
atmosphere. For large volume, intermittent (but
concentrated) VOC streams, elevated flares are
usually used. In the case of a dilute fume in air, the
two methods for incineration are direct thermal
oxidation and catalytic oxidation.
• A schematic diagram of an afterburner is presented
 Some Disadvantage of
Incineration
•The main disadvantage of incineration is the
high fuel cost
•Also, some of the products of combustion of
certain pollutants are themselves pollutants
• For example, when a chlorinated hydrocarbon
is burned, HCI or Cl2 or both will be emitted.
•Depending on the amounts of these by-product
pollutants, additional controls might be
required.
 Oxidation Chemistry of VOC:
Theory
• In this section we will extend that theory to
the specific case of the oxidation of VOC
vapors in air.
• For simplicity, consider only the case of a
premixed dilute stream of a pure hydrocarbon
(HC) in air.
• The stoichiometry of complete combustion in
air is:
 Oxidation Chemistry of VOC:
Theory Cont….
The stoichiometry of complete combustion in air is:
 Importance of the Three Ts of Incineration
• Temperature: (1200 – 2500 0F)
• Time: Longer residence time (≥ 2.0 sec)
• Turbulence: (adjust flow/mass velocities to promote turbulent mixing):
• In mathematical sense, the three Ts are related to three characteristic times – a
residential time (Ƭr), a mixing time (Ƭm) and a chemical reaction time (Ƭc), given
by the following equations:
Ƭc = 1 / k
Ƭm = L2/ De
Ƭr = V / Q = L / u
Where:
V = volume of the reaction zone, m3
Q = volumetric flow rate of fuel, m3/s
L = length of the reaction zone, m
u = solid/gas fuel velocity in the incinerator, m/s
De = effective (turbulent) diffusion coefficient, m2/s; k is a reaction rate constant,
1/s
 Air (or Oxygen)/Fuel Stoichiometric
Ratio
A stoichiometric mixture of fuel and oxygen (or air) is one in which there is
just enough oxygen to theoretically oxidize all of the fuel. The air/fuel (A/F)
ratio is very important to the proper operation of a combustor or an
incinerator. If the A/F ratio is below the stoichiometric ratio (a fuel-rich
mixture), then unburned fuel vapors and CO will be emitted, a sign of
incomplete combustion.
The following equation shows the complete combustion of hydrocarbons
produces CO2 and H2O, and the stoichiometric oxygen and fuel ratio.

CxHy + [(4x+y)/4]O2  xCO2+ (y/2)H2O

Stoichiometric ratio (SR) = (A/F)actual / (A/F)stoichiomet

Equivalence ratio (ER) = 1/SR
 Predicting VOC Kinetics
• Although kinetics are important to the proper design of
an afterburner, kinetic data are scarce and are difficult
and costly to obtain by pilot studies
• Ross (1977) summarized the older methods by
suggesting that the design temperature be set "several
hundred degrees (F) above the VOC autoignition
temperature
• The autoignition temperature is the temperature at
which combustible mixtures of the VOC in air will ignite
without an external source (that is, without spark or
flame)
• Some autoignition temperatures are presented in Table
11.1 (p. 351).
Table 11.1
Autoignition
Temperatur
es of
Selected
Organics in
Air
Temperature for VOC Destruction
in Afterburner
Lee and coworkers, in two studies, conducted experiments on
several VOCs and proposed a purely statistical model to
predict the temperatures required to give various levels of
destruction in an isothermal plug flow afterbumer.
Two of the equations are as follows:
Temperature for VOC
Destruction
in Afterburner Cont…
Activation Energy and Pre-Exponential Factor,
Eq. 11.15
Pre-
Exponen
tial
Factor, A
by Eq.
11.16
and
Steric
Factor, S
by Eq.
11.17
Fig. 11.5: Collison Rate Factor for Various
Hydrocarbons
Fig. 11.6:
Activation
Energies
for
Hydrocarb
on
Incineratio
n as a
Function of
Molecular
Weight
 Estimate the temperature
required in an isothermal
plug flow incinerator with
Example a residence time of 0.5 sec
11.1 p. to give 99.5% destruction
355-356 of toluene.
Use the three methods
discussed in this section
earlier.
Solution to Example 11.1 p.
355-356
Solution to Example 11.1 p.
355-356 Cont…
 Design Considerations –
Thermal Oxidizers
• The process design of a VOC thermal oxidizer or
afterburner involves specifying a temperature of
operation along with a desired residence time, and
then sizing the device to achieve the desired
residence time (>2.0 sec) and temperature range
(1200 – 2500 0F) with the proper flow velocity
• Selection of the proper piece of equipment depends
on such factors as mode of operation (continuous or
intermittent), oxygen content, and the concentration
of the VOC
• Proper selection and sizing are very important when
trying to minimize the overall cost of the incineration
option.
Design Considerations – Thermal
Oxidizers Cont..
• As mentioned previously; thermal oxidizers play a
key role in the incineration of hazardous wastes.
Current regulations require 99.99% DRE
(Destruction Reduction Efficiency) of POHCs
(Principal Organic Hazardous Constituents)
• However, for a mixture of wastes, determining
which POHCs will "control" the overall DRE of the
mixture is not trivial
• The minimum effective temperature in a thermal
oxidizer is a function of the POHC that is the most
difficult to destroy.
Material and Energy Balances in
an Incinerator
 Enthalpy Balance across an
Incinerator
The burner is often supplied outside ambient air
drawn in with the fuel gas in a preset ratio RB, as
determined by the burner manufacturer. Thus, we let
MBA = RBMG, and substitute that relationship into Eq.
(11.21). If we can also assume that TBA = TG, then an
equation equivalent to Eq. (11.24) results.
Substituting Eq. (11.21) into Eq. (11.23) and solving
for the mass flow rate of the fuel gas, we obtain:
Example 11.2 p. 362
Calculate the mass flow rate of methane
required for an afterburner to treat 2465
acfm of polluted air. The air enters at 200
O
F, and the desired exhaust temperature is
1350 OF. It is estimated that the burner will
bring in 200 scfm of outside air. The fuel
gas enters at 80 O F, and the burner air enters
at 80 OF. The lower heating value (LHV) of
methane is 21,560 Btu/lbm. Assume 10%
overall heat loss. Also, ignore any heat
gained by the oxidation of the pollutants.
Solution to Example 11.2 p. 362
Sizing the Device Afterburner
Exampl
e 11.3
and
Solutio
n p. 363
 Catalytic Oxidizers
•Catalytic oxidizers can reduce the required temperature by
hundreds of degrees and can save considerable amounts of
space for equipment as compared with thermal oxidizers. In
most cases, the gases are heated by a small auxiliary burner
(as with a thermal oxidizer but to a much lower temperature).
The gases are then passed directly through the catalyst bed,
which is contained in the same unit as the burner.
•In air pollution control work, the catalyst is usually a noble
metal such as palladium or platinum (other metals are used,
including Cr, Mn, Cu, Co, and Ni) deposited on an alumina
support in a configuration to give minimum pressure drop.
•A honeycomb arrangement (Figure 11.10) typically results
in a pressure drop of 0.05—0.5 in. H20/inch of bed depth,
Fig.
11.10
Honeyco
mb
Catalyst
s
 Table 11.4:
Temperatur
es used for
Catalytic
Incineration
Fig. 11.11: Typical Conversion Efficiencies for
Various Hydrocarbon at Various
Temperatures for Platinum-Alumina Catalyst
Heat Recovery
Heat recovery is another important consideration for
afterburner design. Since fuel gas is expensive, it is
desirable to recover heat from a vapor incinerator. At
an energy cost of $0.40/therm (1 therm = 105 Btu),
recovering useful heat equal to just 50% of the
enthalpy released when 10,000 cfm of air is cooled
from 1400 OF to 400 OF (recovering 260 Btu/lbm of
air) results in a savings of $317 per day (old data).
 When the hot exhaust gases are used to
Heat preheat the incoming VOC-in-air stream,
the thermodynamic properties of the
Recovery two streams are so similar that the
energy recovery can be approximated by
Cont…. a simple equation, as follows:
In-Class Problem 11.4 p. 379

Using the method of Lee et al., predict

the temperature required in an
isothermal plug flow incinerator to
reduce the xylene level in a waste gas
from 1000 ppm to 10 ppm.
Assume a residence time of 0.7 sec.
 What have we learned today?
• Individual/Group Discussion
• Conclusions
 Midterm Exam Review
• Open books and notes
• Total of 100 points
• Total time = 3.0 hrs.
• There will be about 10-15 multiple-
choice questions
• (3-4) Essay Questions
• Bring your calculator
Questions & Comments?

Thank you for your attention!