Thermal and catalytic incineration of volatile organic compounds

Abstract

A major control strategy for dilute waste streams of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in air is incineration. However, no single incineration technology will likely serve as the optimal solution for all applications. In addition, with increasing VOC regulation, more variations of incineration or oxidation systems are appearing in the marketplace. This review presents a description of the currently available incinerator systems in the light of basic combustion theory. It is intended that this overview provide potential users with sufficient background to evaluate the various technologies for application to their specific waste stream. The discussion is presented in two parts. The first deals with thermal or gas‐phase oxidation reactions and those incinerators that employ the thermal pathway for VOC destruction. Both recuperative and regenerative systems are described in this part of the review. The second part treats catalytic incinerators with the same emphasis on underlying principles. The discussion is concluded with two case studies illustrating both methods of incineration.