Application of electron beam technology for treatment of gases in Malaysia

A laboratory scale test rig to treat simulated flue gas using electron beam technology was installed at the Alurtron EB-Irradiation Center, MINT. The test rig system consisted of several components, among other, diesel generator sets, gas analyzers and spray cooler. The flue gas generated from the diesel generator is mainly NOx. SO2 is added into the system. Results from the commissioning test runs and subsequent experimental work showed that the efficiency of flue gas removal is as high as 65% for NOx and 81% for SO2 at 8.0 mA current and 1.0 MeV. MINT has also conducted study on electron beam treatment of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) by using benzene gases. Benzene is one of the most stable compounds and it is very difficult to degrade. In this experiment, benzene is kept in a Tedlar bag or glass jar whereby it is irradiated in a static and control conditions. The concentrations of benzene gases used are 100 ppm and 1 ppmv. The results indicated that the irradiation dose needed for 85-95% degradation of benzene molecules was between 8-12 kGy and several new compounds were produced. (author)