Industrial Air Pollution Control Systems

Air Pollution Control Equipment — Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between an RTO and a thermal oxidizer (TO)?

An RTO (regenerative thermal oxidizer) captures heat from the oxidation process in ceramic media beds and reuses it to preheat incoming exhaust, achieving high thermal recovery. A direct thermal oxidizer (TO) uses a heat exchanger for primary recovery and is typically selected for simpler, high-temperature destruction duty.

How do I choose between catalytic oxidation and thermal oxidation?

Catalytic oxidizers (CO/RCO) destroy VOCs at lower temperatures with a catalyst, reducing fuel use — a good fit for continuous, medium-concentration streams free of catalyst poisons. Thermal oxidizers handle higher concentrations, larger turndown, and streams containing particulates or catalyst poisons. Send us your airflow, VOC composition and concentration for a preliminary recommendation.

What information is needed for an RTO or VRU quotation?

For RTO/TO: airflow, VOC species, average and peak concentration, inlet temperature, humidity, particulate content, operating hours, outlet limits and site utilities. For vapor recovery: vapor flow, composition, concentration, temperature, pressure and emission target.

What is a vapor recovery unit (VRU) used for?

A VRU captures and treats hydrocarbon vapor from tanks, terminals or loading operations using adsorption, condensation, absorption, membrane separation or combined recovery processes, returning recovered product where appropriate.