Tecnologia alternativa para tratamento de poluentes gasosos contendo compostos orgânicos voláteis

Abstract

Volatile organic compounds (VOC) are reactive substances and atmospheric oxidants that cause problems for the environment and health of living systems. Conventional processes for the treatment of gaseous pollutants containing VOC present several technical and economic limitations, especially in relation to their application in small enterprises. In this context, the objective of the study was the development of an alternative technology for the treatment of gaseous pollutants containing VOC. The methodology included the characterization of the sources of VOC and gaseous pollutants under study, the prospection and analysis of conventional treatment methods, processes and technologies, the development and proposition of the alternative technology for the treatment of gaseous pollutants containing VOC, the project and prototyping of the technological solution, the operationalization, experimental tests and the systematization of the results. The most relevant results of the work were: an explicitation of the estimated annual emission of 209,824 tonnes of VOC at national level, which 104 tonnes correspond to the municipality of Toledo-PR; the technological prospection that indicated opportunities for incremental innovations in the development of technology based on thermal oxidation for the disintegration of VOC with auxiliary fuel generation through the pyrolysis of woody material and the production of charcoal; a prototype, built through a University-company partnership, which, during the experiments, reached flame temperatures above 460 °C, guaranteeing the oxidation of the VOC typically emitted by the evaluated sources, as well as the autonomy of up to 145 minutes using 10 kg of wood without fragmentation; the generation of a byproduct with commercial value (the coal resulting from the process with moisture contents between 2.04 - 2.94%, volatile material between 28.2 - 42.0%, ashes between 3.6 - 5.7 % and fixed carbon between 53.6 - 68.0%) according to the commercial charcoal characterization ranges, as evidenced by the quality analysis; and for meeting the intellectual protection requirements, the technological solution resulting from the work is in the process of being patented by the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI). Thus, the present study contributes with unconventional technological solutions for the treatment of gaseous pollutants containing VOC.