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Climate Technologies Combines Heat, Power For VOC Destruction

FARMINGTON HILLS -- Climate Technologies Corp. and CTC Holdings, LLC, suppliers of a complete spectrum of products and services to use waste volatile organic compounds in energy recycling, have introduced a combined heat and power system that destroys VOCs.

Climate Technologies, in line with its initiative to deliver a complete range of VOC energy recycling systems to industry, has recently entered into a partnership with Environment & Power Systems International to work with U.S. industrial customers on combined heat and power systems solutions incorporating the destruction of VOCs.

The sensible use of VOCs in CHP systems are a pivotal energy recycling technology for major sources of environmentally regulated VOCs in the manufacturing, petrochemical and synthetic organic manufacturing industries where power and heat energy can be efficiently and cost effectively generated.

The technology features the single-shaft VPS8 industrial gas turbine, manufactured by Vericor Power Systems. The air-cooled engine is designed to operate on a wide range of gaseous and liquid fuels. The engine is fitted with an EPSI VOC destruction combustion chamber.

EPSI's portable generator package has a power output of 560 kilowatts and features sound attenuation, automation and controls and quality fire and electrical safety components and designs. The innovative combustor design is manufactured with Hastaloy, Inconel, titanium and stainless steel and has no moving parts or catalysts.

The design is ideal for the ingestion of vaporized and gaseous VOCs, which are thermally oxidized into the end-products carbon dioxide and water. This means that waste VOC emissions can be captured, conveyed and efficiently combusted and oxidized in the chamber, producing low level byproducts of incomplete combustion, which are hazardous to environmental health.

The patented VOC combustion chamber is designed for the complete oxidation of VOC air emissions in compliance with U.S. Clean Air Act and European Commission Environment emissions standards including best available control technology and maximum achievable control technology standards for VOC hazardous air pollutants.

Regulated hydrocarbon emissions (solvents and fuels) are destroyed as the VOC is used in the combustion chamber as a secondary fuel in addition to natural gas that is directly injected into the combustor to fuel the operation of the engine.  Monitored exhaust gas temperatures regulate the primary natural gas fuel to optimize the fuel value of the VOC. On board automation adjusts primary fuel requirements to deal with a wide range of VOC species, mixtures and concentrations. The engine can be turned off and on as needed with a 10 minute startup and 5 minute shutdown.

Most importantly, this technology has been successfully demonstrated in industrial applications in the United States including extensive pilot tests simulating paint and numerous other processes that emit solvents and fuels typically used by industry.  Full-size performance verification testing of the gas turbine has shown that combustion temperature controls, residence time, pressure and mixing capabilities of the gas turbine and VOC combustion chamber maximize the destruction of a wide range of VOC species including variable mass loading rates when the VOCs are ingested into the air intake of the engine and burned in the combustion chamber.

Now commercially available, the VOCGEN CHP system "can result in efficient and environmentally beneficial energy independence and security for industry," said Walt Zimmerman, CEO of Climate Technologies.  "It also offers an impressive return on investment and it is a sustainable opportunity for industry to deploy cogeneration."

"The destruction efficiency of regulated VOC's by the VOCGEN CHP solution significantly enhances the value of a typical economic sensitivity model for a CHP system operating at industry," stated Steve Sexton, CEO and Managing Director of EPSI.  "Thousands of existing industrial facilities that rely on abatement equipment and many more with the potential to utilize VOC abatement equipment represent a ready replacement market for the VOCGEN CHP solution.  Given the goals of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy to strategically deploy distributed, or decentralized energy generation and combined heat and power throughout the power grid, the opportunity for energy efficiency and sustainable operations for industry is at hand."

For additional information, visit www.climatetechnologies.com

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