TABLE 2. INDUSTRIAL ABSORPTION REVENUES, $ MILLIONS TABLE 3. INDUSTRIAL ADSORPTION REVENUES, $ MILLIONS World Region World total Africa CIS East Asia Eastern Europe Middle East NAFTA Western Europe 2012 2,886 110 73 1,046 111 106 550 South & Central America 210 West Asia 190 487 cury is then absorbed along with the SO2. About half the plants in the U.S. will take this approach rather than use activated carbon. Power plant absorption The biggest use for absorption technology is in power plants (Table 4). Coal-fired generators around the world generate 60 million tons of SO2. About 30 million tons are captured by absorption. The remaining 30 million tons are discharged to the atmosphere, where the most serious effect is to react with ammonia and calcium in the air to form submicron sulfate World Region Total Africa CIS East Asia Eastern Europe Middle East NAFTA Western Europe 2012 1,208 38 44 430 36 45 235 South & Central America 82 West Asia 73 221 particles. These fine particles are very damaging to human health. There has been continuous progress to make these absorbers more efficient and cost effective. Most use either the spray-tower or tray-tower design. The improvements have been in the two following areas: * Higher efficiency due to better flow patterns * Less scaling due to better chemistry control Ozone and oxidation A small but rapidly growing market segment involves the use of ozone or oxidation chemicals to convert NOx to NO2. The conversion results in a soluble compound that can be captured by an absorber. This same approach can be utilized to deal with odors and organic compounds. Ozone can be effective in several ways. Here are some of the ways it reacts: NO + O3 = NO2 + O2 (1) This is a favorable reaction because NO2 can be absorbed. VOCs + O3 = CO2 + H2O (2) This is a favorable reaction because it eliminates the VOCs. H2S + O3 = SO2 + H2O This is good for odor reduction. Hg + O3 = HgO + O2 (3) (4) This is very good because it renders the mercury soluble so that it can be captured in the scrubber. Visit us at ACHEMA in Frankfurt, Germany 18 - 22 June 2012 Hall 4.0, Booth C26 Reliable Light Weight Construction One Fits All Compatible with existing WPR2002 Safer Extended temperature and pressure ratings Simplified grounding The Component System and KF Systems www.dedietrich.com Circle 11 on p. 61 or go to adlinks.che.com/40267-11http://www.dedietrich.com http://adlinks.che.com/40267-11