Regenerative thermal oxidizer

A regenerative thermal oxidizer (RTO) is a piece of industrial equipment used for the treatment of exhaust air. The system is a type of thermal oxidizer that uses a bed of ceramic material to absorb heat from the exhaust gas. It then uses this captured heat to preheat the incoming process gas stream and destroy air pollutants emitted from process exhaust streams at temperatures ranging from 815 °C (1,500 F) to 980 °C (1,800 F)

Regenerative thermal oxidizer (RTO) that is 17000 standard cubic feet per minute, or SCFM for short.
Control center with a programmable logic controller for an RTO.

These gas streams are usually produced by processes requiring ventilation, including paint booths, printing, and paper mills. Municipal waste treatment facilities such as mechanical biological treatment plants are required by law in Germany to incorporate these systems. Biological alternatives to this system include biofilters and bioscrubbers.

They are suited to applications with low VOC concentrations but high waste stream flow rates. This is due to their high thermal energy recovery. The basic operation of an RTO consists of passing a hot gas stream over a heat sink material in one direction and recovering that heat by passing a cold gas stream through that same heat sink material in an alternate cycle. They are used to destroy air toxins, odors, VOCs, and hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) that are discharged in industrial process exhausts.

There are a number of RTO suppliers throughout North America, Europe and Asia. From a technical stand point the most advanced form of RTO technology is the rotary valve RTO.

Materials treated

Industries served
  • Brick
  • Chemical
  • Coal Mining (VAM)
  • Electrical
  • Ethanol
  • Food processing
  • Foundries
  • Metallurgical
  • Metal recycling
  • Packaging
  • Paint shop
  • Paper
  • Pharmaceutical
  • Plastics
  • Printing
  • Semiconductor
  • Sewage sludge treatment
  • Steel
  • Vehicle manufacturing
  • Wood

Other solutions

Different solutions to the waste gas problems of one of the mentioned industries are available:

  • Thermal Oxidizers (TO)
  • Catalytic Oxidizers (CO)
  • Regenerative Thermal Oxidizers (RTO)
  • Regenerative Catalytic Oxidizers (RCO)
  • Fluidized bed concentrators (FBC)
  • Fixed Bed Adsorbers
  • Rotary Concentrator Adsorbers
  • Smoothing Bed
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