NTPlasma - Plasma treatment of industrial waste gases as a sustainable alternative to thermal post-combustion

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are often harmful or even toxic and are not easily biodegradable. In many cases, they are produced during chemical production processes or combustion processes, such as thermal waste treatment. They are often extracted at the point of origin and channelled into the ventilation system in order to avoid exceeding the maximum workplace concentrations. This means that enormous quantities of industrial waste gases have to be treated as diluted waste gases. Although this is technically possible, recovery is not economically viable in many cases. For this reason, most industrial plants use a thermal post-combustion process to convert potential pollutants into less harmful CO2 and water. Given the current European situation and the scarcity of energy sources such as coal or natural gas, there is a high demand for fully electric and energy-saving alternatives.

The aim of the project is to develop a new and efficient system for the treatment of VOCs based on an innovative plasma module. The plasma module was developed by UMTEC as part of a previous project and is now being adapted to the treatment of VOCs in exhaust gases in our plasma technology centre and will later be tested in a real environment.