Catalytic Oxidizer Treating Flexographic Printing Emissions
Case study: See how Kono Kogs helped a first-time buyer of emission control equipment to find and install the lowest total cost of ownership technology for their rapidly growing label printing application
Problem
Plant emissions were over the emission cap during full production. Plant operations at this printer already exceeded emission caps with all presses running, and had forced this successful flexographic printer to run at less than full capacity. Their existing Catalytic System was max’d out with only 4 of their 6 presses running. This made it difficult to handle the large amount of growth they had been experiencing. The worst part: they were forced to sub-contract work to their competitors to address the limitation of their existing oxidizer. To meet their projected sales growth, they decided to replace some of their older presses with wider, faster presses. These faster presses also resulted in increased total exhaust flow from the facility, requiring more emission control capacity. To install the presses, additional oxidizer capacity would be required.
Photos: In Progess
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Solution
The requirement for their location was 95% VOC destruction with their mix of alcohols, acetates, and ethers. There current total exhaust rate from the 6 presses was 12,000 scfm @ 125F. For worker comfort they also wanted to increase the exhaust rates by 25% from their facility, which was classified as a permanent total enclosure (PTE). In addition, they wanted to be pro-active and plan for future growth. The current oxidizer provided between 8,000 and 9,000 scfm of capacity. The total desired flow rate was 21,000 scfm to handle one or two more presses.
Kono Kogs was contacted prior to the purchase of the presses and asked to recommend an oxidizer for their specific needs. Kono Kogs inspected the existing oxidizer, analyzed its performance at the facility’s typical ink coverage, and recommended a catalytic system. The catalytic system was half the cost of a new catalytic or RTO system, and it was small enough to fit in the tight constraints of the facility. A catalytic system would operate nearly fuel free at most conditions.
The customer was concerned about limiting their flexibility in the event one oxidizer is down for maintenance. Due to the special capabilities of each press, tying a press to a single oxidizer could jeopardize deliveries if the oxidizer were off-line for any reason (maintenance, failure, etc.) and the dedicated press could not operate. To avoid this issue we proposed to mechanically and electrically tie together our oxidizer with the existing system, allowing any of the 6 (plus 2 future) presses to be treated by either, or both oxidizers. Our experience with operating systems in parallel would help this customer avoid production downtime on any press. The flexibility of the interface also would allow the new oxidizer to be installed and brought on line with only a one-time, 3 hour, down time to make the switch over.
In addition to supplying the oxidizer, we also provided installation supervision, utilizing the printer’s preferred contractors, resulting in a significant installation cost savings. We provided duct layout and sizing diagrams, gas piping diagrams, concrete specifications, and electrical wirepull drawings to allow their contractors to complete the work with only minimal guidance.
Photos: After
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Equipment & Services Provided
- Fully Refurbished, Catalytic Recuperative Oxidizer
- Performance and parts warranty
- Low Capital Cost: Approximately 50% of the cost for a new system
- Energy efficient (70% HX) low temp (600F) operation
- Oxidizer and printing press optimized to run at oxidizer at low to NO fuel usage
- Process interface logic modification supplied to isolate off-line processes, saving fuel and electric costs
- Excellent quality, low maintenance system
- Late model (3 year old) system w/20+ year life expectancy
- Installation supervision, permit assistance, and process air handling guidance.
- Guaranteed 97% VOC destruction; field tests showed > 98% VOC destruction
Results
The catalytic system provided performance above what was required. Excellent performance numbers (98% VOC DRE) were achieved with significant capital cost savings compared to new equipment. This client has since purchased 2 additional RTO systems from Kono Kogs. We greatly appreciate the confidence our many repeat customers show us.
