RECOVERY OF ORGANIC SOLVENT VAPORS BY MEMBRANES

ORGNAIC VAPOR-LADEN INDUSTRIAL AIRSTREAMS ARE A GROWING POL-LUTION PROBLEM AND A WASTE OF RESOURCES. THE METHODS NOW AVAILABLE FOR TREATING THESE AIRSTREAMS ARE INADEQUATE, ESPECIALLY WHERE CHLOROFLUOROCARBON SOLVENTS ARE INVOLVED. THE USE OF MEMBRANES TO RECOVER ORGANIC VAPORS FROM CONTAMI-NATED AIR HAS BEEN STUDIED AT MEMBRANE TECHNOLOGY AND RE- INC. SINCE 1982, AND THEY HAVE COMPLETED LABORATORY TESTS OFA ONE-MODULE BENCH-SCALE SYSTEM. THE GOAL OF THE PROPOSED PROGRAM IS TO TACKLE THE SYSTEMS DESIGN AND ENGINEERING PROBLEMS RELATED TO SCALING UP TO A COMMERCIAL SYSTEM. THE PROJECT WILL ALSO PROVIDE FIELD DATA ON SYSTEM RELIABILITY, EFFICIENCY AND ECONOMICS THT WILL SHOW THE ADVANTAGES OF MEMBRANE-BASED SYSTEMS COMPARED TO COMPETITIVE TECHNOLOGIES SUCH AS CARBON ABSORPTION, INCINERATION, AND CONDENSATION. IN THE PHASE I PROGRAM, THE INVESTIGATORS WILL USE AN EXIST-ING MODULE TEST UNIT TO STUDY SOLVENT VAPOR STREAMS MODELED ON THOSE FOUND AT COLLABORATING HOST PLANTS. BASED ON T THESE STUDIES, THE MOST PROMISING FIELD SITE WILL BE SEL- ECTED AND A PILOT SYSTEM DESIGNED. IN THE PHASE II PROGRAM WOULD BE CONSTRUCTED AND EVALUATED IN THE LABORATORY AND IN THE FIELD. THE MOST PROMISING INITIAL COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS OF A MEM-BRANE VAPOR RECOVERRY SYTEM ARE CHLOROFLUOCARBON RECOVERY FROM DEGREASING PLANTS AND FOAM BLOWING PLANTS, AND RECOVERYFROM CONCENTRATED STREAMS GENERATED FROM THE CHLOROFLUORCAR-BON MANUFACTURING PROCESS. IN THE LONG TERM, HOWEVER, MEM- BRANE-BASED SYSTEMS COULD FIND APPLICATION IN MANY OTHER IN-DUSTRIES WHERE SOLVENT RECOVERY IS DESIRABLE.