Reactor for Control of Fugitive Emissions of Toxic Gases

A need to control the fugitive emissions of hazardous vapors, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) has been identified in operations at Army plants and depots. The High Mesa Technologies (HMT)/Coyote Aerospace team proposes to meet this need using proven silent discharge plasma (SDP) techniques, developed by the Electric Power Research Institute and Los Alamos National Laboratory. Field tests with SOP equipment, built by Coyote and operated by HMT, have demonstrated the ability of these systems to achieve required OREs and decompose air pollutants into basic compounds such as H20, C02 and simple acids. Additionally, SDP is capable of reaching specific energy depositions (with compact, high-flow reactors) that are difficult or impossible to attain using pulsed corona reactors, and does not require the use of thin foils that are subject to corrosion and thermal failure, such as those characteristic of direct electron beam excitation techniques. Following successful completion of the Phase I effort, which provides a turn-key, lab-scale SOP system compatible with a variety or optical diagnostics, a proposal to design and build a scaleable prototype system for the Phase II effort will be submitted. This technology is ideally suited for the episodic, variable-competition emissions that are characteristic of many DoD operations. SDP can handle a broad range of flows and concentrations, while simultaneously removing multiple VOCs. It shows promise and commercial potential for pollution control from the petroleum, chemical, and electronics industries as well as for the remediation of pollutants in soil and groundwater. The domestic soi1/groundwater remediation markets were $8.9 billion and $800 million, respectively, in 1994 and are expected to grow at an annual rate of 4%. HMT's business plan matches these target market segments.