Project Synopsis
Perform a technical evaluation of an existing wet scrubber to identify opportunities to reduce water usage at a dye and pigment manufacturing facility.
Project Summary
Process Engineering Associates, LLC (PROCESS) was contracted by the client, a pigment and dye manufacturer, to perform a technical evaluation of an existing wet scrubber at their facility located in the Northeast United States. The client wanted to identify opportunities to reduce water usage across their facility and the wet scrubber was one of the largest users.
PROCESS developed a model of the wet gas scrubber using OLI Flowsheet ESP software. Process data provided by the client was matched to existing wet gas scrubber operation. The scrubber served a dual purpose of scrubbing alcohol vapors and hydrogen chloride (HCl) vapors therefore, individual species efficiencies were determined by working with the scrubber packing manufacturer.
Once a model of the existing scrubber operation was developed, PROCESS was able to evaluate new modes of operation to reduce water usage. Specifically, PROCESS was asked to consider the reuse of treated wastewater in the wet gas scrubber as a scrubbing liquid. The treated wastewater had high hardness and alkalinity values. Using OLI’s aqueous chemistry models, PROCESS determined that reuse of wastewater was likely to foul the column internals with hardness scale.
To reduce water usage and allow for wastewater reuse, PROCESS recommended the client treat the incoming wastewater with acid to reduce the pH and eliminate the scaling concerns. The recommended changes were modeled in OLI to confirm that no change in scrubbing efficiency would occur. The model results and recommendations were presented to the client, and a trial run was recommended to confirm model results prior to construction of permanent facilities.
Industry Type
Dye and Pigment Manufacturing
Utilized Skills
- Scrubber design
- Technical alternatives evaluation
- Electrolytic system process simulation.