Vertical gas scrubber for treatment of butyric acid

The problem

A manufacturer of raw materials for cosmetics, food and biopolymers, wanted to erect a new plant, to increase their production. The client expected to receive odor complaints (e.g. from butyric acid), and thereby contacted us for a tailor-made solution.

The air is extracted from various production process locations: during storage, when cleaning collection bins, and mostly during the fermentation process.

Our solution

Since the odor problem was mainly due to butyric acid, which is easily soluble in water, a vertical scrubber was an ideal solution for this case. Gas scrubbing is a good way to reduce odor nuisances. After a thorough study and in consultation with the customer, it was therefore decided to build a custom made vertical scrubber.

In our engineering department, a gas scrubber was designed to meet the imposed specifications. The height, diameter, amount of packing material, recirculation flow rate... were all defined. It was calculated that optimal removal could be achieved with two layers of packing material. To obtain the highest possible efficiency,  fresh water is continuously injected on top of the installation.  All pipes and connections were provided by PCA. The fan was supplied and dimensioned by our sister company Almeco. An injector was foreseen, besides our two high pressure centrifugal fans. In total, three different gas streams are being treated.