Project Overview
This project is implemented at Shijiazhuang Pharmaceutical Group, Hebei Province, covering multiple core workshops including API synthesis, fermentation, solvent recovery and pharmaceutical preparation. The waste gas contains complex components such as ethanol, acetone, butanol, esters and aldehydes, together with a small amount of acid-base gas and pungent odor. The air volume and concentration fluctuate frequently, and the plant is classified as a high-risk explosion-proof area. This project fully adopts the Catalytic Oxidation (CO) process to realize centralized treatment of VOCs and odors for the whole plant, which is well adapted to the continuous production mode of the pharmaceutical industry.
Core Parameters
- Multiple parallel treatment units, single set air volume: 2,000~15,000 m³/h
- Compliance standard: GB 3782-2019 Emission Standard of Air Pollutants for Pharmaceutical Industry
- Annual continuous operation hours: 8,000 hours
Process Flow
Multi-stage Dry Filter → Flame Arrestor → Electric Preheater → CO Catalytic Oxidizer → Plate Heat Exchanger → Standard High-altitude Discharge
Pre-treatment: Multi-stage filters intercept dust, liquid droplets and macromolecular impurities to protect the catalyst. The flame arrestor prevents flame propagation as the first safety barrier.
Preheating: The low-temperature waste gas is heated to 250~380°C by the electric heater to reach the optimal temperature for catalytic reaction.
Core Reaction: The gas enters the fixed-bed catalytic chamber. Under the action of Pt-Pd noble metal catalyst, flameless low-temperature oxidation occurs. VOCs and odor substances are completely decomposed into carbon dioxide and water.
Waste Heat Recovery: High-temperature flue gas recovers heat via the plate heat exchanger to preheat incoming gas and greatly reduce power consumption.
Final Discharge: The purified flue gas is discharged through the chimney. The whole system operates under negative pressure to avoid gas leakage.
Main Equipment
- Multi-stage dry filter
- Explosion-proof flame arrestor
- Electric heater assembly
- CO catalytic oxidizer
- Honeycomb noble metal catalyst (Pt-Pd)
- Plate heat exchanger
- Explosion-proof variable frequency fan
- PLC automatic control system
- Online LEL monitoring device
Operation Performance
Purification Effect: The overall VOC removal efficiency is over 98%. Indicators including benzene series, non-methane total hydrocarbons and odor are consistently better than national standards. The plant odor problem is completely solved.
Energy Saving: Supported by the waste heat circulation system, the power load is greatly reduced during normal operation, saving more than 40% energy compared with direct combustion equipment.
Safety: The whole equipment is designed in accordance with pharmaceutical explosion-proof standards (ExDIIBT4, IP55). Equipped with multiple interlocks for concentration, temperature, pressure and fan fault. It will automatically vent in case of over-limit concentration, ensuring long-term safe operation.
Maintenance: The equipment has a compact structure. The service life of the catalyst exceeds 8,500 hours. Modular components are easy to maintain and replace, suitable for high-load continuous production of pharmaceutical factories.
Technical Highlights
- The pure CO catalytic process is suitable for multi-component and fluctuating waste gas in pharmaceutical factories. The low-temperature flameless reaction produces no NOx and no secondary pollution
- Comprehensive safety configuration (flame arrestor + online monitoring + emergency interlock) meets strict explosion-proof and anti-static requirements of pharmaceutical plants
- The mature waste heat recovery system cuts the overall operating cost for long-term operation
- Modular design with small footprint, suitable for new workshops and old equipment renovation