THERMAL DESORPTION PLANTS ART Engineering, LLC

ART and its associates provide Low Temperature Thermal Desorption (LTTD) or High Temperature Thermal Desorption (HTTD) thermal desorption plants. A wide range of indirect and direct heated mobile and stationary systems is available. Treatment capacity ranges from 1 tph to 50 tph.  Each plant is backed up with production rate and performance guarantees which are the best available in the business. Laboratory process feasibility testing is available.

5' Diam. - Two Load Mobile Thermal Remediation System	5.5' Direct Thermal Desorption Plant (UK)
7' Thermal Soil Remediation Plant	7’ Indirect Thermal Soil Desorption Plant (Belgium)
7' Direct Mobile Thermal Desorption Plant (Spain)	Stainless Steel Dryer Shell

Thermal Desorption Technology

Thermal desorption is a physical separation process and is not designed to destroy organics. Wastes are heated to volatilize water and organic contaminants. A carrier gas or vacuum system transports volatilized water and organics to the gas treatment system. The operating temperatures and residence times designed into these systems will volatilize selected contaminants but will typically not oxidize them.

Three types of thermal desorption are available:

Direct Fired: Fire is applied directly upon the surface of contaminated media. The main purpose of the fire is to desorb contaminants from the soil, then off-gas is treated to remove particulates and contaminants.

Indirect Fired: A direct-fired rotary dryer heats an air stream which, by direct contact, desorbs water and organic contaminants from the soil.

Indirect Heated: An externally fired rotary dryer volatilizes the water and organics from the contaminated media into an inert carrier gas stream. The carrier gas is later treated to remove or recover the contaminants.

All thermal desorption systems require treatment of the off-gas to remove particulates and contaminants. Particulates are removed by conventional particulate removal equipment, such as wet scrubbers or fabric filters. Contaminants are removed through condensation and/or they are destroyed in a secondary combustion chamber or a catalytic oxidizer.

Based on the operating temperature of the desorber, thermal desorption processes can be categorized into two groups: low temperature thermal desorption (LTTD) and high temperature thermal desorption (HTTD)

Low Temperature Thermal Desorption (LTTD)

In LTTD, wastes are heated to between 90 and 320 °C (200 to 600 °F). LTTD is a full-scale technology that has been proven successful for remediating petroleum hydrocarbon contamination in all types of soil. The target contaminant groups for LTTD systems are nonhalogenated VOCs and fuels. The technology can be used to treat Semi Volatile Organic Compound (SVOCs) at reduced effectiveness. Decontaminated soil retains its physical properties. Unless being heated to the higher end of the LTTD temperature range, organic components in the soil are not damaged, which enables treated soil to retain the ability to support future biological activity.

High Temperature Thermal Desorption (HTTD)

HTTD is a full-scale technology in which wastes are heated to 320 to 560 °C (600 to 1,000 °F). HTTD is frequently used in combination with incineration, solidification/stabilization, or dechlorination, depending upon site-specific conditions. The technology has proven it can produce a final contaminant concentration level below 5 mg/kg for the target contaminants identified. The target contaminants for HTTD are SVOCs, PAHs, PCBs, and pesticides (DDT); however, VOCs and fuels also may be treated, but treatment may be less cost-effective. Volatile metals may be removed by HTTD systems. The presence of chlorine can affect the volatilization of some metals, such as lead. The process is applicable for the separation of organics from refinery wastes, coal tar wastes, wood-treating wastes, creosote-contaminated soils, hydrocarbon-contaminated soils, mixed (radioactive and hazardous) wastes, synthetic rubber processing waste, pesticides and paint wastes.