What is a regenerative thermal oxidizer?

That is the exact question I asked when my most recent client wanted me to write about it for this blog. I scratched my head, made a few cracks about knowing that I must have arrived to be considered worthy of addressing this topic, and then set about doing some cursory research, as well as an extensive virtual discussion with my Facebook community.

Well, it turns out this is something we may already know about albeit indirectly. A regenerative thermal oxidizer or RTO is an industrial processing machine that treats exhaust air before it pollutes the environment. They are used extensively in industries that produce low VOCs (volatile organic compounds), but have a high waste stream. What happens is the RTO passes a hot gas stream over a passive heat exchanger in one direction and sends a cool gas stream in the opposite direction to recover the heat.

This process puts less pollutants and hazardous material into the air and instead recovers and contains it. Industries that utilize this technology include foundries, paint shops, pharmaceutical, car shops, food processing, plastics, sewage, metal recycling, and printing. In essence, this technology is used in nearly every aspect of the manufacturing industry.

Like me, you probably didn't know anything about this process until you started to read this post either, but thanks to today's sponsor, we all know something new. 

Be a Fan