Analysis of a wet scrubber network in the air remediation of industrial workplaces: benefit for the city air quality

Industrial activities carried out in confined spaces are characterized by a very specific type of air pollution. The extended exposure to this kind of pollution is often highly harmful, resulting in dramatic effects both on health and safety aspects. The indoor industrial abatement systems, adopted to purify the air, are typically applied to the emission points. The processed air is subsequently emitted outside. In this study we present the experimental results of three-stage wet scrubber systems installed in the industrial workplace of a (i) fiberglass processing plant, where the highest exposure levels to volatile compounds are nowadays today monitored,and of a (ii) waste-to-energy plant, characterized by a very high particulate matter level. The adopted technology, to be used as complementing strategy,does not require special disposal procedures and the processed air is re-emitted in the same work environment for the benefit of the work operators. The operation of the scrubbers network during the working activities, in both the examined environments, has a) reduced the level of volatile compounds by about 40% and b) maintained the particulate matter concentration PM > 1 to a very low level. Industrial plants are disseminated in mega-cities and represent dangerous diffuse pollution emission sources. Remediation of highly polluted industrial plants inside our towns, especially for the conventionally untreated emissions, is of extreme benefit for the cities air quality.