CASE STUDY – From Scrap to Sky: A Journey Toward Cleaner Recycling

The challenge: cleaner recycling at higher production rates

The facility needed to treat increasing VOC emissions from its recycling operations while supporting regional air-quality requirements and efficient operation. The published account identifies alcohol, methyl ethyl ketone (MEK), and toluene among the VOCs considered in the design.

Changing production and VOC concentrations made the thermal operating profile important. The solution needed to accommodate the plant’s output without treating emissions control as a stand-alone equipment purchase.

The engineered RTO solution

• 31,000 SCFM capacity: a new regenerative thermal oxidizer addressed the plant’s exhaust-treatment requirement.
• Ceramic heat recovery: high-efficiency media recovered heat within the RTO.
• Hot-bypass strategy: the design addressed temperature management as VOC concentrations changed.
• Future heat-recovery provisions: the published plan included provision for a stack heat exchanger as the facility’s needs evolved.
• Project support: SSE provided air-quality permitting assistance and assistance with customized incentive applications.

The original project description discusses both hot-bypass functionality and future provisions. Final installed scope and subsequent additions should be confirmed with the project team rather than inferred from the overview.

Design performance and expected value

The published design specifies 98% VOC destruction efficiency and greater than 95% thermal effectiveness. Expected benefits included lower operating costs, support for regional air-quality requirements, and improved emissions control as production increased.

SSE’s original account labels these benefits as expected results. It does not provide a stack-test report, measured annual savings, an incentive award amount, or a payback period. This case study therefore presents design performance and intended benefits, not independently verified operating results.

The maintenance connection: preserve heat recovery over time

The AM Mondays article Small Heat Losses Today. Bigger Energy Bills Tomorrow explains why media condition, leakage, and heat-exchanger performance deserve attention. Technical Corner’s High-Cycle Valves in Regenerative Thermal Oxidizers explains the importance of valve selection and sealing.

For an operating plant, compare fuel use, temperatures, pressure drop, and maintenance history under comparable production conditions. These general technical principles support ongoing evaluation; they are not additional findings from the Colton installation.

Learn more about RTOs for the recycling industry, heat recovery and heat exchangers, and ceramic media replacement and upgrades.

Project video