Ethylene oxide is a colorless, flammable gas. It is used to sterilize medical equipment and food products, and in making chemical products and organic synthesis intermediates.
When handling ethylene oxide, fumes are released at atmospheric pressure due to its high vapor pressure. These fumes are carcinogenic.
Ethylene oxide dissolves easily in water to form ethylene glycol, but breaking down ethylene glycol is very slow. Using an ethylene oxide scrubber makes the water quickly saturated with ethylene oxide, reducing efficiency. Using fresh water each time isn’t practical because it uses too much water.
Some renowned companies use adsorption technology to remove ethylene oxide fumes from your facility, which we’ll discuss later.
Working Principle and Application
Today, almost all ethylene oxide is made using one method: gas-phase oxidation of ethylene with oxygen over a silver-coated fixed-bed catalyst at 428-572°F and 116-435 psi. The catalyst is silver coated on granular aluminum oxide.
Ethylene oxide has many industrial uses. It is important for making ethylene glycol and is often used to sterilize medical equipment and supplies. It also helps produce detergents and surfactants. In addition, ethylene oxide is used in agriculture and the textile industry as a fumigant.
You can find ethylene oxide in chemical plants, pharmaceutical production, and facilities that make sterilized medical equipment. It is used to produce polyethylene glycols, polyethylene oxide, copolymers with propylene oxide, polyethylene terephthalate, surfactants, ethanolamines, oil demulsifiers, and fumigants.
Ethylene oxide is a key raw material with many applications in chemical technology, including:
- Chemical reactors in ETO manufacturing plants
- ETO bottling plants
- The medical disposable and surgical industry
- Spice and food processing
- Storage tank venting
- Contract sterilization facilities
- Pharmaceutical processes
Ethylene Oxide Risks
Ethylene oxide is very easy to catch fire, and when it mixes with air, it can explode. If it gets hot, it can expand and start a fire or explosion. Breathing it in is toxic and can make you very sick if you swallow it. It’s a substance that can irritate, numb, and is very poisonous. It can easily go through clothes and shoes as a gas, which can cause a serious allergy. If it gets in your eyes, it can burn them.
Breathing in a lot of it can hurt people. It can cause:
- Problems with breathing and damage to your lungs.
- Headaches, feeling sick, and feeling dizzy.
- Being around it for a long time can raise the chance of getting cancer, like leukemia and lymphoma.
- It can also affect your ability to have kids and cause changes in your genes.
To keep safe at work, it’s important to have clean air and good ventilation to lower the risk of these health problems.
Building a Scrubber
When companies make scrubbers, they create them based on their type. For example, ethylene oxide scrubber is designed to clean air very well. It can work in different industries and follows strict environmental rules. But regardless of the type, all scrubbers have these parts:
- A scrubber body or column where dust is caught.
- A pipe where dirty air comes in.
- A pipe for clean liquid to go in.
- A pipe for dirty liquid to go out.
- A tank to keep water to use again.
- A nozzle to remove sludge.
An ethylene oxide vent scrubber can clean out a lot of C₂H₄O, usually more than 95%. This makes them good for following strict rules.
The scrubber works by cleaning the air. It uses water to wash away particles and gases in the air. A pump sends water through pipes and nozzles into the scrubber. The water wets the air and removes dirt and gases. Then, the dirty water goes to a tank where the dust settles. From there, it goes to a cleaning machine.
Efficient Wet Scrubbers for Air Purification
Torch-Air made special scrubbers for chemical factories. They clean the air really well when making scrubbers. The scrubbers are called Boreas, Tornado, Venturi, and Typhoon.
Wet scrubbers, or wet dust collectors, clean the air in factories.They clean up to 99.9% of the bad airs.
Water goes into the scrubber and makes dust wet. The wet dust falls down because of gravity. Dirty water goes into a tank for cleaning later.
Scrubbers are good because they’re simple, work well, and don’t break easily.
The company makes ethylene oxide scrubbers from stainless steel, PVDF, RP, PP, PTFE. They choose the best materials based on what’s in the air and how the scrubber will be used.
Horizontal scrubbers are also popular. They clean the air from acids, alkalis, gases, and dirt. They’re easy to take care of and don’t take up much space.
Additionally, the ethylene oxide scrubber cost changes based on things like size, material used, and other features.
Equipments for Air Purification
Here are some equipments to clean the air in factories from C₂H₄O:
- Activated Carbon Adsorption Systems: They soak up EO from the air.
- Catalytic Oxidizers: They use special stuff to turn EO into less bad things like carbon dioxide and water.
- Thermal Oxidizers: They burn C₂H₄O at super hot temperatures, changing it into safe stuff.
These equipments make sure the air gets cleaned up and the C₂H₄O levels become safe.
Also, there’s something called an ethylene oxide water scrubber. It’s good at taking out EO from factory air. Using this, your company can keep EO levels low, following rules and keeping workers and nearby people healthy.
Conclusion
In conclusion, ethylene oxide scrubbers play an important role in industries where ethylene oxide is used. They help preserve the air clean and secure by way of casting off harmful materials like ethylene oxide. But using ethylene oxide comes with risks like fireplace and fitness troubles. Also, other technology like activated carbon structures, catalytic oxidizers, and thermal oxidizers are used to hold ethylene oxide levels safe. It’s actually crucial to make certain the air is smooth and to take protection steps to defend people and the environment.
