Project Page Views: [ 716 ]
| Project Metadata Element | Details |
| Project Title | Development and demonstration of an integrated Emission Control System Askeaton |
| Research Area | Water |
| Project Acronym | |
| Principal Investigator or Lead Irish Partner | Austin Geraghty (IE) |
| Lead Institution or Organisation | Wyeth Nutritionals Ireland (WNI) American Home Products Corporation (AHP) Manufacturing b.v |
| Lead Country | Ireland |
| Latitude, Longitude (of Lead Institution) | |
| Lead Funding Entity | LIFE |
| Approximate Project Start Date | 01/08/1996 |
| Approximate Project Finishing Date | 01/07/2000 |
| Project Website (if any) | |
| Links to other Web-based resources | |
| Project Keywords | Wastewater treatment; Energy saving; Integrated management; Emission reduction |
| Project Abstract | Background: At the time of project conception, WNI operated three steam boilers consuming approximately 11 million litres of heavy fuel oil per annum and as a consequence generating emissions of sulphur dioxide and particulates. WNI also generated approximately 115 million gallons of dairy waste water per annum. This waste water underwent full biological treatment prior to local discharge. The micro-organisms essential to the treatment process require the untreated waste water to register within the pH band 6.0-8.5. A fundamental element of the waste-water treatment process within WNI was thus pH-correction of an alkaline waste by the addition of hydrochloric acid. Objective: The objective of the project was to develop an Emission Control System which would simultaneously address four distinct areas of environmental impacts, namely atmospheric emissions, wastewater treatment, energy recovery and chemical usage. Successful completion of this project would set an industry standard and encourage uptake of a similar methodology throughout Europe. WNI identified the potential for applying a single solution to the two problems of atmospheric emissions and effluent pH-correction by combining the two waste streams in an innovative way. Significant savings in plant operating costs were a potential added benefit. The idea was to utilise the untreated dairy waste water as a boiler exhaust gas-scrubbing medium in a non-clogging fluidised bed scrubber system. This resulted in the pH-correction of the waste water prior to biological treatment and thus allowed a substantial reduction in the volume of acid required. Finally, the waste heat energy from the boilers was recovered from the exhaust gases, creating additional savings in energy consumption. The first stage of heat recovery takes place in economisers, where the heat is removed from the flue gases and put into the boiler feed water. The flue gases then pass through the scrubber tower, where contact with the dairy waste water strips SO2 and particulates from them. The cleaned gases are reheated and exhausted to the atmosphere. The dairy waste water is circulated continuously over the scrubber tower, with raw effluent make-up and overflow bleed-off. The secondary stage of heat recovery takes place when heat is removed from this liquid and put into the boiler fresh-water make-up system.The recirculated waste water becomes acidic following the take-up of SO2. The overflow is discharged to the effluent treatment plant according to pH-correction requirements, thus eliminating the need for hydrochloric acid for this purpose. The particulates are also carried off into the treatment plant, where they are combined with the normal sludge for disposal. |