Industries

The manufacture of chemicals can generate vent-gas streams and fugitive emissions that must be captured and controlled. NESTEC has extensive experience in the design of collection systems, the application of pretreatment particulate removal devices, the oxidation of VOCs, and the treatment of acid gases that sometimes result from oxidation.

Gaseous and aerosol particulate emissions come from curing ovens and dryers, from calendaring and fusion operations. NESTEC engineers have extensive experience in capturing and treating emissions from extrusion lines; from web offset, rotogravure, flexographic, and intaglio printing processes; and from embossing, lamination, and film production lines — including design for Permanent Total Enclosure (100 percent capture).

Carbon monoxide, wood dust particulate, condensable organic aerosols, alkali metal containing ash, water-saturated air streams — these are some of the constituents found in VOC exhaust streams emitted from wood products operations. NESTEC engineers have treated emissions for over 25 years in plywood, particleboard, oriented strand board (OSB), and wood pellet plants.

Emissions from impregnation lines, engine casting foundries, engine test facilities, and coating and paint spray booths have been treated by RTOs designed to handle flows up to hundreds of thousands of SCFM per RTO. NESTEC engineers have worked on projects in the U.S., Mexico, South America, and Europe for all major truck and automobile manufacturers for over 35 years.

Pulp and paper mills present unique and difficult material selection challenges in the application of RTOs and particulate control, as well as in the acid treatment technologies used to control emissions from various process vent streams. NESTEC engineers have over 25 years experience in this industry.

Pharmaceutical plant applications include the treatment of various chemical vent streams from mixers and storage tanks, and of exhausts from pill dryers. The latter often contain methylene chloride, which forms hydrochloric acid as a byproduct of oxidation; incorporating wet scrubbers into an RTO application is often an indicated solution.

VOC and CO byproducts of fermentation processes require pollution control. RTOs have been very successfully used to treat emissions from vents and grain dryers; NESTEC has installed several large systems, including design-and-build contracts for entire system installations.

Products of composite and carbon-fiber manufacturing processes contain resin formulations that emit VOCs upon mixing, heating, and curing. NESTEC engineers have designed RTO systems to control these emissions.

Odors and VOCs from municipal sewage treatment plants can be treated cost-effectively with RTOs. NESTEC has installed many such systems.

NESTEC engineers have used RTOs to treat malodors from food and animal feed processing plants, rendering plants, sewage treatment plants, and flavorings/odorant manufacture. RTOs are well suited for these applications because of their low operating costs and fuel usage.

Many coatings and paints still contain VOCs in their formulations. Applied in a liquid state, coating and paint films must be dried, typically in direct-fired ovens and dryers operating at temperatures from 150°F to 600°F. NESTEC engineers have designed many high-temperature ducting systems to convey the exhaust streams to RTOs. Various heat recovery systems have also been employed to reduce operating costs for these VOC-rich processes, including waste heat boilers, return-to-process make-up air streams, and building heat with air-to-air heat exchangers. Industries served include coil coating, beverage and food containers, automotive paint shops, medical products, and resilient flooring, among others.