A company in Helmond uses distillation to regenerate waste and solvents for a large variety of (petro)chemical, industrial customers. The regenerated solvents are reused.

Challenge
With a view to a future expansion of the regeneration plant, an upgrade of the vapour processing installation is necessary in order to be able to continue to meet the emission guidelines. The current processing installation has reached the limits of its operating capacity and so restricts any future expansion of the business.

Solution
HMVT was asked to consider the available vapour processing systems and to give advice regarding an ultimate solution. This was based on the one hand on the available emission data, emission requirements and production processes, and on the other on the basis of further on-site research into the nature and extent of the vapour flows as well as the frequency at which these are released during the various distillation processes of this company.

For the on-site investigation into the precise nature, extent and frequency of the released vapour, during a period of several weeks HMVT carried out emission measurements in situ using its mobile FID equipment. In addition, vapour samples were taken to the laboratory for analysis.

Results
The emission investigation has resulted in a clear picture of the vapours that are released during operations. On the basis of this, a conceptual vapour processing strategy was developed in close consultation with Remat for the purification of the vapours in the future. This purification strategy consists of the following: 1) levelling off the peaks in the vapour, 2) concentrating the vapours and 3) purifying the vapours. The next step is to test these solutions in practice (pilot tests).