VOC and HAP recovery using ionic liquids

Abstract

During the manufacture of wood composites, paper, and to a lesser extent, lumber, large amounts of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as terpenes, formaldehyde, and methanol are emitted to air. Some of these compounds are hazardous air pollutants (HAPs). The air pollutants produced in the forest products industry are difficult to manage because the concentrations are very low. Presently, regenerative thermal oxidizers (RTOs and RCOs) are commonly used for the destruction of VOCs and HAPs. RTOs consume large amounts of natural gas to heat air and moisture. The combustion of natural gas generates increased CO2 and NOx, which have negative implications for global warming and air quality. The aforementioned problems are addressed by an absorption system containing a room-temperature ionic liquid (RTIL) as an absorbent. RTILs are salts, but are in liquid states at room temperature. RTILs, an emerging technology, are receiving much attention as replacements for organic solvents in industrial processes with significant cost and environmental benefits. Some of these processes include organic synthesis, extraction, and metal deposition. RTILs would be excellent absorbents for exhausts from wood products facilities because of their unique properties: no measurable vapor pressure, high solubility of wide range of organic compounds, thermal stability to 200°C (almost 400°F), and immisciblity with water. Room temperature ionic liquids were tested as possible absorbents. Four were imidizolium-based and were eight phosphonium-based. The imidizolium-based ionic liquids proved to be unstable at the conditions tested and in the presence of water. The phosphonium-based ionic liquids were stable. Most were good absorbents; however, cleaning the contaminates from the ionic liquids was problematic. This was overcome with a higher temperature (120°C) than originally proposed and a very low pressure (1 kPa. Absorption trials were conducted with tetradecy(trihexyl)phosphonium dicyanamide as the RTIL. It was determined that it has good absorption properties for methanol and α-pinene, is thermally stable, and is relatively easy to synthesize. It has a density of 0.89 g/mL at 20°C and a molecular weight of 549.9 g/mol. Trials were conducted with a small absorption system and a larger absorption system. Methanol, formaldehyde, and other HAPs were absorbed well, nearly 100%. Acetaldehyde was difficult to capture. Total VOC capture, while satisfactory on methanol and α-pinene in a lab system, was less than expected in the field, 60-80%. The inability to capture the broad spectrum of total organics is likely due to difficulties in cleaning them from the ionic liquid rather than the ability of the ionic liquid to absorb. It’s likely that a commercial system could be constructed to remove 90 to 100% of the gas contaminates. Selecting the correct ionic liquid would be key to this. Absorption may not be the main selection criterion, but rather how easily the ionic liquid can be cleaned is very important. The ionic liquid absorption system might work very well in a system with a limited spectrum of pollutants, such as a paint spray line, where there are not very high molecular weight, non volatile, compounds in the exhaust.