For the last three years, the Clean Air Alliance of China (CAAC) has been giving awards to international emission reduction methods which can be used to improve air quality in China. Above all, the Alliance assesses real measurement results, the environmental benefits, the technological contribution, and the financial sustainability of the technology. There were 63 applications from 13 countries for the latest Bluetech Award. Dürr received the coveted award for its newly developed Ecopure® CCF technology.
The Ecopure® CCF can help to reduce air pollution in all energy-intensive industries with high levels of pollutant emissions, such as glass making or the use of coal-fired boilers for electricity generation. The heart of Dürr’s new technology is the Catalytic Candle Filters (CCF). The catalytically coated filter candles, which can withstand temperatures of up to 716°F, simultaneously remove dust, sulfur dioxides (SOx), and nitrogen dioxides (NOx) from the exhaust air.
This method makes it possible to achieve clean gas values up to 50% below the current Chinese emission limits. This gives leeway for tighter limit values in the future and today makes it possible to continue production without restrictions even when there is “Level 1 Alarm” in effect, the strongest warning level for polluted air in China. The manufacturing processes do not have to be interrupted even during service work on the filters, since their modular design means that they can be individually shut off. During maintenance, the exhaust air of the module to be serviced can be easily distributed to the other modules.
The Ecopure® CCF is already proving its performance in practice in China. Glass producer Libbey is the first manufacturer to use the new exhaust air purification technology in its plant in Beijing.
