THERMAL AND CATALYTIC INCINERATION OF VOLATILE ORGANIC-COMPOUNDS

A major control strategy for dilute waste streams of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in air is incineration. However, no single incinerati on technology will likely serve as the optimal solution for all applic ations. In addition, with increasing VOC regulation, more variations o f incineration or oxidation systems are appearing in the marketplace. This review presents a description of the currently available incinera tor systems in the light of basic combustion theory. It is intended th at this overview provide potential users with sufficient background to evaluate the various technologies for application to their specific w aste stream. The discussion is presented in two parts. The first deals with thermal or gas-phase oxidation reactions and those incinerators that employ the thermal pathway for VOC destruction. Both recuperative and regenerative systems are described in this part of the review. Th e second part treats catalytic incinerators with the same emphasis on underlying principles. The discussion is concluded with two case studi es illustrating both methods of incineration.