Selection and Substantiation of an Organic Solvent Removal Apparatus at a Print Shop by Comparative Experiments Using the Activated Carbon Adsorption and Catalytic Oxidation Methods

ABSTRACT

The investigation of an appropriate organic solvent removal apparatus for installation in a newly reconstructed print shop as a countermeasure for preventing the exhaust of organic solvents was conducted.

The selection of an organic solvent removal apparatus was made after bench-scale tests of the activated carbon adsorption method and the catalytic oxidation method, both of which are effective for the removal of organic solvents, were performed on the actual exhaust gas at the print shop. The results showed that both methods were efficient enough to be applied to the removal of organic solvents, but the activated carbon adsorption method had many drawbacks, such as the need for frequent replacement of activated carbon and complex maintenance. For the catalytic oxidation method, running costs are high, but there are many merits, such as that the catalysts do not have to be replaced as often and maintenance is simple. After considering these factors, a catalytic oxidation removal apparatus was installed at the new print shop. In the results of the substantiation test on the actual apparatus using mixed catalysts of platinum and manganese plus copper, the removal efficiency was 97.998.7% and the concentration of the outlet exhaust gas was about 10 ppm (the average concentration of the inlet exhaust gas was 528 ppm) at a space velocity of 30,000 hr^-1 and a reaction temperature of 200 °C. The results of this study were substantiated.