Exhaust air purification for fuel cell production

For the treatment of exhaust air from three coating lines with drying processes used in fuel cell production, PlasmaAir AG supplied an exhaust air treatment system to remove ethanol, propanol and terpineol. The design takes account of the phased construction of the three lines and can be expanded as production grows.

Exhaust air treatment for fuel cell production

INITIAL SITUATION

The coating and subsequent drying of fuel cell components generate solvent-containing exhaust air streams containing ethanol, propanol and terpineol. As the three production lines were scheduled to start operating at different times rather than simultaneously, the exhaust air treatment system had to be designed from the outset to scale up in stages alongside production, without affecting lines already in operation.

OUR SOLUTION

PlasmaAir AG has developed a modular scrubber concept that can be expanded in stages:

A specially developed Düsenbodenwäscher reliably removes the highly volatile, water-soluble ethanol while requiring little maintenance.
A downstream activated carbon filter also captures the more difficult-to-remove terpineol.
The system is built in three stages: Line 1 prepares the first unit directly for the final capacity, Line 2 pre-installs a second, parallel unit, and Line 3 upgrades both scrubbers to handle the full volumetric flow rate.
Frequency-controlled fans allow operation at both reduced and final volumetric flow rates.
A control system optimises water flow based on the concentration of the cleaned exhaust gas, thereby significantly reducing fresh water consumption and operating costs.
The cleaned exhaust air is discharged through a 13 m-high freestanding stack with continuous emissions monitoring.