Regenerative Thermal Oxidation of Airborne N, N-Dimethylformamide and Its Associated Nitrogen Oxides Formation Characteristics

Abstract In this study, a two-bed electrically heated regenerative thermal oxidizer (RTO) was used to test the thermal destruction and oxides of nitrogen (NOx) formation characteristics in burning airstreams that contain either N, N-dimethylformamide or dimethylformamide (DMF) mixed with methyl ethyl ketone (MEK). The RTO contained two 0.152 m × 0.14 m × 1 m (L × W times] H) beds, both packed with gravel particles with an average diameter of approximately 0.0111 m and a height of up to 1 m with a void fraction of 0.42 in the packed section. The thermal recovery efficiency (TRE) and the gas pressure drop over the beds were also studied. Experimental results reveal that, with a valve shifting time (t s) of 1.5 min, a superficial gas velocity (U g) of 0.39 m/sec (evaluated at an influent air temperature of around 30 °C) and preset maximum destruction temperatures (T S) of 750–950 °C, no NOx was present in the effluent gas from the RTO when it was loaded with DMF-free air. When only DMF was present in the inf...