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Concept
Scrubber
Summary
Scrubber systems (e.g. chemical scrubbers, gas scrubbers) are a diverse group of air pollution control devices that can be used to remove some particulates and/or gases from industrial exhaust streams. An early application of a carbon dioxide scrubber was in the submarine the Ictíneo I, in 1859; a role for which they continue to be used today. Traditionally, the term "scrubber" has referred to pollution control devices that use liquid to wash unwanted pollutants from a gas stream. Recently, the term has also been used to describe systems that inject a dry reagent or slurry into a dirty exhaust stream to "wash out" acid gases. Scrubbers are one of the primary devices that control gaseous emissions, especially acid gases. Scrubbers can also be used for heat recovery from hot gases by flue-gas condensation. They are also used for the high flows in solar, PV, or LED processes.
There are several methods to remove toxic or corrosive compounds from exhaust gas and neutralize it.
Combustion is sometimes the cause of harmful exhausts, but, in many cases, combustion may also be used for exhaust gas cleaning if the temperature is high enough and enough oxygen is available.
The exhaust gases of combustion may contain substances considered harmful to the environment, and the scrubber may remove or neutralize those.
A wet scrubber is used for cleaning air, fuel gas or other gases of various pollutants and dust particles. Wet scrubbing works via the contact of target compounds or particulate matter with the scrubbing solution. Water is the most common solvent used to remove inorganic contaminants, particularly for dust, but solutions of reagents that specifically target certain compounds may also be used.
Process exhaust gas can also contain water-soluble toxic and/or corrosive gases like hydrochloric acid (HCl) or ammonia (NH3). These can be removed very well by a wet scrubber.
Removal efficiency of pollutants is improved by increasing residence time in the scrubber or by the increase of surface area of the scrubber solution by the use of a spray nozzle, packed towers or an aspirator.
Official source
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