Integrated Scrubber & Wet Electrostatic Precipitator Reduces HAPs Emissions at Secondary Lead Smelter Facility

Paper # 17 Andrew C. Bartocci Envitech, Inc. 2924 Emerson Street- Suite 320 San Diego, CA 92106

ABSTRACT
A secondary lead smelter recycles lead acid car batteries by using a combination of combustion processes including kilns and furnaces. Extensive pollution control equipment, including wet scrubbers and bag-houses, control emissions from these sources. Despite these controls, there was a need to reduce specific contaminants further in order to meet stringent regulatory standards for hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) such as lead, arsenic and mercury. This challenge was met with an innovative system design that captures low concentrations of specific contaminants present in the gas stream as condensable particulates. An integrated packed bed condenser/absorber (C/A) together with a wet electrostatic precipitator (WESP) reduces specific air contaminants by approximately 90%. Multiple exhaust sources were combined into one stack, reducing initial capital cost and annual stack testing costs. Sub-cooling minimizes the visible steam plume, which lowers the profile of the plant within the community. The air quality district considers the system to represent the best available technology, and some experts believe that the facility is now the cleanest secondary lead smelting facility in the world.

INTRODUCTION
A secondary lead smelter recovers lead from used automobile batteries by using a combination of combustion processes including kilns and furnaces. The major processing steps are separating the non-lead bearing materials from the lead bearing materials, smelting the lead bearing materials, refining and alloying the lead, and casting lead ingots to customer specifications. Emissions from the combustion sources are highly controlled. However, a requirement to further lower emissions arose from new regulations for large industrial facilities designed to reduce cancer risk by 75% from the previous standards. Typically, stack testing from a highly controlled secondary lead smelter facility shows extremely low amounts of various HAPs. Mass flows for some of the compounds are non-detectable, while others may be in the range of 10-5 to 10-6 lbs/hr. Despite these very low amounts from controlled sources, stack test modeling can result in a cancer risk index that is higher than the new, more stringent standards allow. The pollution control challenge, therefore, is a polishing step to significantly reduce toxic air emissions from these very low inlet concentrations. Envitech met this challenge with a turn-key WESP and an integrated packed bed C/A.

WESP SYSTEM LAYOUT

The WESP system consists of five WESP units that treat the combined stack gases of four upstream combustion sources. The system is designed for any four units operating at all times and one unit remaining off line for inspection and maintenance purposes. Figure 1 below shows a simple schematic of the system general arrangement. The combined inlet gas is approximately 205,880 m3/hr at 67.2oC (121,000 acfm at 153oF). The WESPs are an upflow design with a packed bed C/A in the lower section of each unit. The C/A sub-cools the gas prior to entering the collection section of the WESP for particulate collection. The gas exits from the top of the WESP units and passes through an induced draft fan before being exhausted though a common stack. The outlet gas is approximately 185,192 m3/hr at 27.8oC (109,000 acfm at 100oF). Figure 1: WESP System General Arrangement

PERFORAMNCE GUARANTEE
New regulations required this facility to reduce its cancer risk assessment. The cancer risk assessment is derived from a complex and expensive process of modeling stack emissions for a range of measured compounds. For a typical secondary lead smelter, the assessment can include up to 45 different compounds. The performance guarantee for the system design used surrogates of a limited number of compounds which are the highest contributors to the cancer risk assessment index. To confirm compliance with the new cancer risk assessment rules, modeling was performed with revised values based on the proposed performance guarantee. Table 1 below shows the performance guarantee for the system design. The specific compounds and precise mass flows are not shown, but the information illustrates the performance challenge for achieving a high removal efficiency with very low inlet concentrations.

Compound A B C

Table 1: System Performance Guarantee Approximate Inlet, lb/hr a x 10-02 b x 10-02 c x 10-04

Removal Efficiency, % 92% 92% 50%

WESP AS A MULTI-POLLUTANT REMOVAL DEVICE

In general, a WESP is considered a particulate removal device. However, if properly designed, a WESP can function as a multi-pollutant removal device for particulate and acid gases. Figure 3 below shows a schematic for an upflow WESP unit. The inlet gas flows into the conditioning section at the bottom of the WESP. The conditioning section ensures that the gas is saturated and evenly distributes the flow to the collection section above it. The conditioning section of each WESP contains a packed bed C/A. SO2 is removed from the gas stream by metering a 3% solution of sodium carbonate (soda ash) into the C/A recirculation line. A liquid cooling circuit consisting of a cooling tower and a plate-and-frame heat exchanger cools the gas and condenses the water vapor. A blowdown stream is taken from the C/A recirculation line to purge the system of sodium sulfate reaction products and excess condensed water. The blowdown is used as make-up water for other scrubbing processes in the plant. Figure 2: Upflow WESP Schematic

Sub-cooling in the C/A offers several advantages. Water is condensed onto the sub-micron particles increasing their size, which results in slightly higher collection efficiencies. The gas volume is reduced which allows the collection section to be smaller and saves on capital cost and

space. Additionally, sub-cooling ensures the greatest condensation of condensable compounds in the gas steam prior to entering the collection section. This is important because only condensed compounds and particles will be collected in the WESP. Lastly, the gas is cooled to 32.8oC (100oF) at the outlet. This eliminates the water vapor plume under favorable climatic conditions which lowers the profile of the plant within the community. After passing through the conditioning section, the gas enters the collection section for particulate collection. The collection section is an array of hexagonal shaped tubes with an electrode protruding down the center of each tube. Figure 3 below illustrates a WESP collection tube. The illustration is a cross-sectional view of a round tube. Particulate collection entails three steps. First, the particles are given a strong negative charge by an ionizing corona produced by a high voltage electrode. Second, the electric field between the electrode and the tube wall causes the charged particles to migrate to the grounded tube wall where they accumulate. Finally, a falling water film inside the tube removes the collected material to a discharge drain. The falling water film is created by a periodic flush that occurs above the collection section. The flush occurs for about one minute in every one to six hours depending on the application. Figure 3: WESP Collection Tube Illustration

The final section is the outlet section. The outlet section supports the high voltage grid and houses the wash header to provide the wet film for particulate removal. It includes an air purge system to keep the high voltage insulators dry. As the gas exits the outlet section, it passes through an entrainment separator for water droplet removal.

SIZING THE WESP FOR PERFORMANCE

One of the most important aspects of WESP design is sizing the units. Figure 4 below shows the predicted WESP efficiency for various specific collection areas (SCA). The values are represented by the letters A through E. The SCA is the active collection tube surface area per 1,000 cubic feet per minute of gas required to meet the predicted removal efficiency. The total active surface area in square feet equals the SCA times the flow rate divided by 1,000. The actual number of tubes and WESP units used will depend on the tube geometry and the corresponding square feet of collection area per tube. Typical SCA values for WESPs can range from 85 to 300 depending on the required removal efficiency. Figure 4: Predicted WESP Efficiency

The size of the WESP is a function of the desired removal efficiency and the gas volume. This means that the desired removal efficiency can dramatically affect the size and cost of the system. The higher the removal efficiency required for a given gas flow, the higher the SCA, and consequently, the greater the number of collection tubes required. This results in a larger system and correspondingly higher capital costs. The SCA of the WESP system for this facility is the value represented by the letter C which provides a predicted removal efficiency of 95% for compounds A and B. This meets the required performance guarantee of 92% for these compounds. Sub-cooling the gas in the C/A section reduces the gas volume by approximately 10%. This in turn reduced the total number of tubes required. In this particular case, it also reduced the number of WESPs required from six to five units, which was a significant cost savings.

CONSIDERATIONS FOR A TURN-KEY SYSTEM

Although primary attention must be given to the technical design of the process equipment, there are other considerations to ensure successful integration and implement a complete turn-key system. Included in the project scope were detailed design, construction permits, piping, electrical, and all required ancillary equipment. Developing a detailed design which addressed all requirements for the project was a collaborative process with the customer and a team of subcontractors. The plant was already operating at near capacity for many utilities. This increased the scope of the project. A new sub-station was needed to support the power requirements for the new ID fans, recirculation pumps, and cooling tower motors. A new back-up power generator was needed to provide power for the loss of power. A regenerative thermal oxidizer (RTO) was integrated into the system to control volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from one of the process streams. The system required many instruments including level controls, pH meters, flow transmitters, differential pressure transmitters, thermocouples, and T/R controllers. A new control room was needed to house the control system. The existing stacks were located at different places in the plant. More than 500 feet of ducting had to be run in order to tie all of the process streams into one inlet duct which fed into the WESP system. The new equipment required over a thousand yards of concrete and multiple footings and support stanchions for the duct work. Careful planning had to take place to stage the installation and tie-in of the different pieces of equipment. The plant operates continuously so down time for tie-in had to be minimized. Construction for the project started in mid October 2007 and tie-in and start-up occurred in early June 2008, just under nine months. Final tie-in of the system occurred during a six day shutdown.

SUMMARY AND DISCUSSION OF RESULTS

Performance testing was recently performed and submitted to the local state agency for approval. Table 2 below shows a comparison of the performance test result to the guarantee. The test results demonstrate the system is above the performance guarantee for all three compounds. The system is performing as designed and enabling the plant to meet the new tougher cancer risk assessment standard. Table 2: System Performance Approximate Guarantee Inlet, lb/hr Efficiency, % a x 10-02 92% b x 10-02 92% -04 c x 10 50%

Compound A B C

Performance Test Efficiency, % 98.7% 92.4% 54.3%

CONCLUSION
Often industrial facilities are sited in remote locations. However, as the years pass, what was once a green field becomes a heavily populated suburban neighborhood. More and more, it is the case that state agencies and the communities themselves put pressure on these facilities to reduce emissions, perhaps even beyond federal standards. This is especially true when the emissions are suspected of imperiling the health of the people living near the facility. Innovative ways are needed to help these facilities meet this challenge so that industry and communities can co-exist in harmony The Envitech WESP system demonstrates industrys commitment to provide a cleaner, healthier environment. The result of the WESP system is a significant contribution to lower the cancer risk to the surrounding community. The air quality district considers the system to be the best available technology, and some experts believe the facility is now the cleanest secondary lead smelter in the world.

REFERENCES
1. Crawford, M. Air Pollution Control Theory, 1976. 2. Calvert, S.; Englund, M. Handbook of Air Pollution Technology, 1984

KEY WORDS
Wet electrostatic precipitator, hazardous air pollutants, HAPs, secondary lead smelter