Control of Volatile Organic Compounds Emissions from Manufacturing

3.0 EMISSION CONTROL TECHNIQUES
Volatile organic compounds (VOC), used as solvents and key raw
materials in the manufacture of polymers and resins, are emitted to the
atmosphere from a variety of process equipment. Process VOC emissions
can be reduced either by installing emission control devices or by
reducing the VOC in the vent streams by a process modification such as
recovery of monomer or sol vent. This chapter describes emission control
techniques that may be used to reduce process emissions from the polymers
and resins industry.
Process emi ssi ons from the manufacture of polymers and resins are
diverse in both composition and flow. Streams contain a wide range of
VOC concentrations, i.e., less than 1 percent to essentially 100 percent,
but most are of high concentration. Some streams are continuous, while
others are intermittent. Process emissions also differ in temperature,
pressure, heating value, and miscibility. These factors are extremely
important in the selection and design of VOC emission control equipment.
Due to this diversity, different control techniques may be appropriate
for different vent streams. The control techniques may be characterized .
by two broad categories: combustion techniques and recovery techniques.
Combustion techniques such as flares and incinerators are applicable to
a variety of VOC streams. Recovery techniques such as condensation,
, absorption, and adsorption, are effective for some select vent streams.
Economic incentives may encourage the use of either type of VOC control,
since certain combustion configuraticns my permit heat recovery, and
recovery techniques permit the conservation and reuse of valuable materials.
The selection of a control system for a particular application is based
primarily on considerations of technical feasibility and process economics.
The most common control techniques form the basis for this chapter.
Basic design considerations for flares, thermal and catalytic incinerators,