Removal of Volatile Organic Compounds from polluted air

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are among the most common air pollutants emitted from chemical, petrochemical, and allied industries. VOCs are one o f the main sources of photochemical reaction in the atmosphere leading to v arious environmental hazards; on the other hand, these VOCs have good comme rcial value. Growing environmental awareness has put up stringent regulatio ns to control the VOCs emissions. In such circumstances, it becomes mandato ry for each VOCs emitting industry or facility to opt for proper VOCs contr ol measures. There are many techniques available to control VOCs emission ( destruction based and recovery based) with many advantages and limitations. Therefore, deciding on a particular technique becomes a difficult task. Th is article illustrates various available options for VOCs control. It furth er details the merits, demerits and applicability of each option. The autho rs hope that this article will help in critically analysing the requirement s and accordingly decide on the appropriate strategy to control VOCs. (C) 2 000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.