Treatment of industrial gases

The main technologies in flue gas treatment can be simplified into the following families:

• Adsorption
  Contaminants are removed by adhering to the surface of a solid particle (adsorbent). Some of the adsorbents used would be activated carbon or zeolites.
  
  

• Absorption
  Contaminants are removed from the emitting gas through wet or dry absorption when mixed with a reagent which causes a chemical reaction with the contaminant.
  
  

• Catalytic treatments.
  During the catalytic process, polluting gases pass through a catalyst which activates the chemical reaction that transforms the polluting components into less toxic or non-toxic ones.
  
  

• Filtration
  Technology used to remove particles, which can be done either dry or wet. Dust collectors are common in dry processes, and wet scrubbers in wet processes.
  
  

• Thermal Oxidation
  Process where gases are subjected to high temperatures to convert pollutants into less polluting gases, such as carbon dioxide (CO2), water vapor (H2O) and nitrogen (N2), but also into gases that must be considered for treatment in future stages, such as hydrogen chloride (HCl) and nitrogen oxides (NOx), among others.
  
  

• Biological treatment.
  Technology that uses microorganisms to eliminate contaminants from gases