Removal of Total Organic Carbon (TOC) from a Stationary Source using Diatomaceous Earth and Activated Carbon during the Processing of Polymeric Materials

Abstract

— Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are among the most common pollutants released into the air in the petrochemical and chemical industries. The article deals with removing VOCs while producing plastic granules containing approx. 80% polypropylene and polyethene, together with other additives. In this sector, the simplifying factor is that it deals with only one volatile pollutant, total organic carbon TOC, regardless of the specific materials from which the VOC emission originates. The permissible pollution level indicates a TOC emission limit of 50 mg ∙ m-3 for this production. During operation, emissions are extracted from the machinery to a stationary source. It is a fabric filter where the air is cleaned through a layer of diatomaceous earth. To determine if the above limit is not exceeded, measurements showed that the TOC limits are significantly higher (82.9 mg m-3 ). Therefore, tests were carried out using a mixture of activated carbon and diatomaceous earth. The results showed that activated carbon significantly reduced TOC concentrations to 8.4 mg m-3 . Keywords— Activated carbon, diatomaceous earth, polymers, stationary source, total organic carbon, TOC, volatile organic compounds, VOC.