Environmental Management

Consider Wet
Scrubbers for Pollution
Control
Gregory D. MacLeod, P.E. Three main types of wet scrubbers are used in
CR Clean Air
The Clean Air Group, LLC the chemical process industries (CPI) to remove
contaminants from gas streams. The differences
and suggested applications for each are
discussed here.

P
ollution control equipment is fundamental to chemi- energy jet venturis. Each design is appropriate for certain
cal process industries (CPI) facilities. Scrubbers applications, and knowing which scrubber to specify is an
are a type of pollution control equipment that are important part of the design process.
frequently mandated by regulation to promote environmen-
tal health and safety and can help recover product. Scrub- Jet venturi
bers fall into two generalized categories, wet and dry. This The jet venturi (Figure 1) is the most basic wet scrubber.
article focuses on wet scrubbers, how they operate, and In this setup, a pressurized liquid is passed through a nozzle
advantages and disadvantages of each type. and expands as the pressure decreases to atmospheric condi-
Wet scrubbers use a liquid to remove pollutants from a tions. This creates an area of low pressure, which draws the
contaminated gas stream via absorption. In most cases, the
liquid is water, as it is readily available at most facilities. It
is common to include a chemical additive in the water so Head
Liquid
that the pollutants undergo a reaction and are converted to Inlet
a less-hazardous compound. The most common chemical is Throat Discharge
sodium hydroxide, or caustic (NaOH). Because it is a strong
base, caustic is an excellent scrubbing agent to remove acid
gases, including hydrochloric acid (HCl) and sulfur dioxide
(SO2), and can also be used with hydrogen sulfide (H2S),
Converging
mercaptans, and certain organic macromolecules such as Gas Inlet Section
fatty acids. Some facilities use water alone and forgo the Diverging
Section
use of chemical reagents.
Three main types of wet scrubbers are used in the CPI p Figure 1. A jet venturi fume scrubber can remove moderate to large
today: jet venturi fume scrubbers, packed towers, and high- particles from a stream with a high liquid-to-gas ratio.

Copyright © 2018 American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) CEP  October 2018  www.aiche.org/cep  47
Environmental Management

gases into the head of the jet venturi. This two-phase mix- 40 gal of liquid per 1,000 ft3 of vapor. Particulate collection
ture is compressed in the converging nozzle. In the throat efficiency increases drastically for L/G ratios above 80. For
section, the narrowest point of the venturi, the two fluids are L/G ratios of 100 or higher, 99.75% of particles larger than
well-mixed and the liquid absorbs the gaseous pollutants. 5 μm can be removed.
The clean fluid then expands to a gas through the diverging Although the venturi is an excellent choice and is fairly
section, slowing as it reaches the outlet. Table 1 summarizes simple to operate, it has its limitations. It excels at bulk
bulk removal efficiencies for different pollutants. removal, but the amount of a pollutant the liquid phase can
Because most scrubbing applications include high absorb from the gas phase is limited. This issue is addressed
concentrations of noncondensable vapors, the jet venturi by connecting two, or even three, venturis in series to
scrubber typically discharges the stream into a separator increase the contaminant removal. For very low emissions
tank. This tank is sized to accommodate the two-phase fluid targets, a packed tower is a better approach.
with sufficient residence time to allow the gaseous phase to
separate from the liquid phase. From this point, clean gas is Packed tower scrubbers
either vented to atmosphere or sent to a second jet venturi Most packed towers operate in a countercurrent fashion.
or a packed tower for additional removal. Liquid is sprayed into the top of the column and flows down
The cocurrent flow and intimate contact between the through the packing, while the gas enters at the bottom and
phases make the jet venturi a good choice where bulk flows up toward the top (Figure 3). This flow arrangement
removal is needed. The goal of bulk removal is to reduce maximizes mass transfer between the two phases and mini-
the majority of the pollutant exiting the system. For exam- mizes the amount of scrubbing liquid needed for a given gas
ple, if the gas entering the scrubber contains 1,000 ppm of a flowrate. Because they have lower liquid-to-gas ratios than
pollutant and the applicable regulation requires 1 ppm at the comparably sized jet venturis, packed towers are preferred
scrubber outlet, then the overall removal needed would be: for cases where the allowable outlet pollutant concentration
is low.
As the name implies, a packed tower is a column filled
with packing, which allows for vapor-liquid equilibrium on
where Ci is the inlet concentration and Co is the outlet the packing surface. Packing can be random or in the form
concentration. of a structured mesh. Different types of random packing
To achieve this level of removal, a two-stage scrubber include Raschig and Pall rings, saddles, and custom geom-
would be required. The first stage should be a jet venturi, etries (Figure 4).
which removes the bulk (90%) of the pollutant. The second The overall absorption efficiency, as well as the pres-
stage would typically be a packed tower, which is
better suited for achieving low outlet concentrations Table 1. Removal rates in a jet venturi for pollutants
at ambient conditions depend on the contaminant
(10 ppm or less) of a pollutant.
and the type of chemical scrubber used.
When scrubbing with a chemical solution, the
Contaminant Removal
liquid can be recycled as shown in the piping and Scrubbing Liquid
Removed Rate
instrumentation diagram (P&ID) in Figure 2. A
small slipstream, commonly called a blowdown or Ammonia (NH3) Water >60%
purge stream, prevents the buildup of salts, nitrates,
and other similar byproducts of chemical scrubbing. Acetic Acid (CH3COOH) Caustic >90%
This blowdown is highly basic (in the case of caustic
scrubbing) or acidic (in the case of acid scrubbing Chlorine (Cl2) Caustic >80%
using H2SO4 or another strong acid), so it may need
secondary treatment before it is sent to a municipal Hydrochloric Acid (HCl) Caustic >90%
wastewater treatment system. When in doubt, check
the treatment facility operator’s requirements. If nec- Potassium Hydroxide
Hydrofluoric Acid (HF) >90%
(KOH)
essary, the blowdown can be sent to a neutralization
tank before it is expelled to ensure proper pH balance Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S) Caustic >50%
and water chemistry is achieved prior to discharge.
The jet venturi can also remove moderate Sulfuric Acid (H2SO4) Caustic >90%
(>1 μm-dia.) to large (> 10 μm-dia.) particles, as
long as the liquid-to-gas ratio (L/G) is high enough. Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) Caustic >90%
Generally, the minimum liquid-to-gas ratio needed is

48  www.aiche.org/cep  October 2018  CEP Copyright © 2018 American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE)
sure drop throughout the column, is affected by the pack- out toward the walls. To avoid this, it is customary to split
ing geometry and size. Smaller packing has a higher the packed bed into two separate sections (an upper bed and
surface-area-to-volume ratio, creating a larger area for a lower bed) and add a liquid redistributor between them.
vapor-liquid interactions. However, there is a correspond- This enables the liquid to flow more evenly across the bed
ing increase in pressure drop. Most packed towers have and reduces the potential for fluid channeling toward the
a pressure drop ranging between 0.1 inH2O to 1.0 inH2O walls of the tower.
(25–250 Pa) per ft of packing. The redistributor collects the liquid and redistributes it
Packed towers are primarily designed for liquid-to-gas across the column to ensure even flow with minimal fluid
ratios ranging from 2 to 4. Larger liquid-to-gas ratios are channeling. To determine whether a liquid redistributor
used in certain situations, although doing so risks column
flooding, which does not allow for proper liquid-vapor Clean Gas Out

interaction and is ineffective at pollutant removal. Flood-

ing occurs when the liquid flow is larger than the gas flow
and the packing becomes fluidized. Pressure drop increases
sharply and gas flow is impeded due to the deluge of liquid
Mist
flowing down the column. Conversely, smaller liquid-to-gas Eliminator
ratios, at times, might cause the packing to have insufficient Scrubbing
wetting. In these situations, the liquid channels out toward Liquid In
the walls of the column, causing the packing near the center Spray
of the tower to dry out, thereby impeding mass transfer. Nozzle

Improving packed-bed tower performance

Also note that fluid channeling can also occur in towers
Packed Bed
with large height-to-diameter ratios. As the liquid flows
down the packing, it tends to flow away from the center and
Contaminated
Pressure Gas In
PI
Indicator

Liquid
Reservoir
Scrubbing
Liquid Out
Gas Inlet
Flow
Element
Jet Venturi p Figure 3. Packed columns have the ability to remove the pollution in an
outlet stream to achieve low emissions targets.

Purge
Stream

Gas
Outlet
Separator PI Pressure
Tank Indicator
Overflow

Liquid Level Level

Gage
Check
Fill Valve

Drain
Isolation Recycle
Valve Pump

p Figure 2. A recycling process for the scrubbing liquid can be integrated p Figure 4. The packing type in a column affects the pressure drop and
into jet venturi and tank systems. Piping and instrumentation diagrams scrubbing potential within the column. Random packings include Raschig
(P&IDs) help to visualize the process. and Pall rings, saddles, and custom geometries.

Copyright © 2018 American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) CEP  October 2018  www.aiche.org/cep  49
Environmental Management

is necessary, a good rule of thumb is that the packed-bed gas with increasingly contaminated water limits the amount
height in feet should not exceed the column inner diam- of pollutant that can be effectively removed, even if a high
eter in inches. For example a 36-in.-dia. column with a blowdown rate is used. In certain cases, two packed beds
40-ft packed bed can be split into two segments, each 20 ft can be placed in the same column — the lower bed using
tall with a redistributor between them. Although liquid recirculated water for initial removal and the upper bed
redistributors are useful, they do increase both the overall using fresh water for final cleanup.
height and the cost of the column, but the impact on overall Since the packed bed (and mist eliminator) impart a
pressure drop is negligible. In some situations, particularly pressure drop, it is important to ensure that either the gas
columns less than 2 ft in diameter, it may make more sense is at sufficient pressure at the inlet to allow proper flow
to increase the column diameter rather than incur the costs through the tower, or a fan (or blower) is incorporated in
and complications of a redistributor. the system to move the gas through the tower. Although the
Another modification commonly used to improve fan/blower is sometimes placed ahead of the packed tower,
column performance is the addition of a mist eliminator with gas passing through it, usually it is placed downstream
to ensure that the exiting gas does not contain too much of the tower, where the cleanest gas is located. The mechan-
moisture. There are two basic types of mist eliminators — ­­ ical design of a tower with a downstream fan must be rated
chevron type and mesh pad type. Most packed columns use for the highest vacuum that the fan can produce.
the mesh type. The mesh looks similar to a scouring pad. As noted earlier, a jet venturi can be coupled with a
As the gas flows through the pad, the tortuosity — i.e., the packed tower. The jet venturi imparts a small change in pres-
twisting and turning of the passages — allows the vapor to sure (referred to as draft) as it pulls the gas from its source
escape while the liquid coalesces and falls back down into and pushes it through the tower. Well-designed venturis
the column. Most mesh pads impart only a small additional can produce pressures anywhere from 0.25 inH2O to up to
pressure drop of less than 1 inH2O. 12 inH2O, depending on the liquid flowrate — which com-
As with the jet venturi designs, the scrubbing liquid in a pensates for the pressure drop through the packed tower.
packed bed can be recirculated. When scrubbing with water
alone, recirculation is often avoided, since scrubbing the High-energy jet venturi
The third type of wet scrubber is the high-energy jet
venturi (Figure 5). Its overall appearance is similar to that
Clean Gas Out of its cousin, the jet venturi. This jet is called high-energy
because it produces a relatively large pressure drop on the
gas, unlike the jet venturi, which creates a slight increase in
pressure on the vapor. The high-energy unit has a smaller
throat diameter, which contributes to higher gas velocities
Contaminated Gas In and corresponding pressure drops ranging from 10 inH2O
to 60 inH2O. Another difference is that the scrubbing liquid
Polishing Mist
Eliminator enters the high-energy jet venturi perpendicular to the
Scrubbing gas flow. As the gas passes through this curtain of liquid
Liquid In
and is then accelerated through the venturi throat, small
Cyclonic particles collect in the liquid phase and can be subsequently
Venturi
Throat Mist/Gas removed, leaving a clean exhaust gas.
Separation
The three-phase fluid leaving the high-energy jet (vapor,
liquid, and particulate) is sent to as cyclonic separator. The
gas enters tangentially and flows in a circular path up the
Wetted
Elbow
GREGORY D. MACLEOD, P.E., is an engineering sales manager for
Liquid CR Clean Air (Address: 6 Campus Dr., Parsippany, NJ 07054;
Reservoir Phone: 973-947-8787 x121; Email: [email protected]), where
he specializes in heat and mass transfer and thermodynamics, and is
also an adjunct professor at SUNY Orange in Middleton, NY. He has
Scrubbing almost 20 years of experience in industry and previously worked as a
Liquid Out senior process engineer for Croll Reynolds Co. and as an engineering
manager for Exergy, LLC. Macleod earned his BS and MS in chemical
engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institiute and Northeastern
p Figure 5. As a gas is accelerated through the venturi throat, small Univ., respectively. He is a licensed professional engineer in New York
particles collect in a liquid phase and can be subsequently removed, and New Jersey.
leaving a clean exhaust gas.

50  www.aiche.org/cep  October 2018  CEP Copyright © 2018 American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE)
separator tank wall, while the liquid (along with the cap- rosion resistance. However, for high-temperature applica-
tured particulate) falls to the bottom of the separator tank. tions (above 180°F), it is customary to use a metal due to
To prevent any carryover of liquid droplets, a mist the temperature limitations associated with FRP equipment.
eliminator is always placed at the top of the separator tank. Care should be taken to ensure a proper balance
Normally a chevron blade style is used. The blades consist between design life and cost for a metal unit. Although a
of bent metal pieces spaced closely together; the gas flows high-nickel alloy or titanium will withstand even the most
up and out of the tower, but the liquid droplets are too large corrosive environments, they are often cost-prohibitive
to pass between the plates and fall back into the tower. The compared to a similarly sized stainless steel or carbon steel
droplet removal rate is a function of both the superficial gas unit. In short, if the process operates intermittently (e.g.,
velocity and the gas density. Tank diameters are selected to during emergency releases), perhaps a lower-cost metal
ensure maximum performance of the mist eliminator. with a higher corrosion allowance is a reasonable choice.
Each plant has its own philosophy in this regard; as much
Choosing the appropriate scrubber as a scrubber supplier can make suggestions, final material
All of these wet scrubbers have advantages and disadvan- selection is the responsibility of the end-user.
tages. For bulk removal of pollutants or removal of particles
larger than 1 μm, a jet venturi can be used. For removal of Closing thoughts
fine particulates, the high-energy venturi is the best option. A wet scrubber for pollution control is the final unit
For streams relatively free of particulate and/or for high pol- operation in many CPI facilities. Each type of wet scrubber
lutant removal efficiencies, a packed tower can be used. has strengths and weaknesses, and the appropriate type for a
With all of these technologies, the scrubbing liquid can particular application depends on factors such as the
be recirculated. However, care should be taken when scrub- scrubbing liquid (water alone vs. with a chemical additive),
bing with water alone, since recirculating increasingly dirty the impact of particulates (if any are present), and the
water will inhibit the overall pollutant removal rates. amount of pollutant removal required. Jet venturis are a
When recirculating the scrubbing liquid, it is important good choice in cases where there is no defined outlet
to consider the heat of reaction associated with the chemi- concentration on the pollutant of interest or where moderate
cal reaction occurring in the scrubber. Table 2 shows some to large particles (1 μm to >10 μm) are present. For small
common chemistries and associated heats of reaction. If particulates and dust/smoke, the high-energy venturi is a
the liquid flow is too low, the temperature will rise and better option. And for very demanding applications where
the scrubbing liquid will not remove the contaminant. If emissions limits are very low (10 ppm or less), packed
the temperature increase is too high, the scrubbing liquid towers are preferred due to their ability to achieve high
can vaporize, which would prompt pump cavitation and pollutant removal rates (99.9% or better). CEP

catastrophic damages to the scrubbing system.

Thus, temperature control should be considered,
Table 2. When recirculating the scrubbing liquid,
particularly for cases where the liquid’s outlet it is important to consider the heat of reaction
temperature is 120°F or higher. associated with the reaction occurring in the scrubber.
A heat exchanger is also included in the liq- Reaction Heat Generated
uid recirculation line. Most scrubbers use plate-
and-frame exchangers because they are compact 37,100 Btu/mol NH3
and provide good overall thermal performance.
Shell-and-tube designs are useful in applications 43,9000 Btu/mol Cl2
where fouling is a concern.
In many cases, the heat of reaction is par- 56,8000 Btu/mol HCl
tially offset by evaporation as water expands
through the nozzle and contacts the vapor. For
50,500 Btu/mol HF
very-high-temperature vapors, such as fluegases,
a quench should be considered ahead of the ven-
turi. Although quenching first creates a larger gas 23,1000 Btu/mol H2S
flow into the venturi (which will necessitate a
larger venturi), the lower-temperature gas allows 49,000 Btu/mol H2SO4
the use of more types of construction material.
Most scrubbers are made of fiberglass-­ 66,800 Btu/mol SO2
reinforced plastic (FRP) due to its excellent cor-

Copyright © 2018 American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) CEP  October 2018  www.aiche.org/cep  51