Revolutionizing Exhaust Gas Treatment in Plastic Recycling_ How the Noah DRE Plasma Deodorization System is Setting New Standards
Revolutionizing Exhaust Gas Treatment in Plastic Recycling: How the Noah DRE Plasma Deodorization System is Setting New Standards
Plastic pollution is one of the most pressing environmental challenges of our time. While recycling plastic is hailed as a vital step toward resource sustainability, the process itself comes with its own set of issues—most notably, the emission of harmful exhaust gases.
From volatile organic compounds (VOCs) to other hazardous pollutants, the byproducts of plastic recycling are far from negligible. These gases not only compromise air quality but also pose severe health risks, calling for immediate and effective intervention.
That’s where the Noah DRE Plasma Deodorization Equipment comes into play. With its cutting-edge narrow pulse discharge technology, this system tackles exhaust gases with unparalleled efficiency. It offers a trifecta of benefits: safety, reliability, and eco-friendliness—ensuring that the promise of plastic recycling doesn’t come at the cost of environmental degradation.
As the world continues to push for a circular economy, technologies like the Noah DRE system are indispensable. They not only address the challenges of today but also pave the way for a cleaner, greener tomorrow.
1、Gas Pollution in the Plastic Recycling Process: A Hidden Environmental Threat
The plastic recycling process is essential for reducing waste, but it comes with its own environmental challenges. From sorting and cleaning to crushing, melting, and pelletizing, each step releases harmful gases into the air. The heat, friction, and degradation of plastics during these stages lead to the emission of several dangerous pollutants. These gases not only impact air quality but also contribute to broader environmental concerns. The key pollutants include:
1. The Hidden Dangers of Gaseous Pollutants in Plastic Recycling： In the plastic recycling process, especially during the heating and melting stages, various components in the plastic volatilize into the air, forming complex gaseous pollutants.
These pollutants usually have irritating odors, and some have been proven to be harmful to human health, potentially causing respiratory diseases, neurological damage, and other health issues. Some components are even toxic and carcinogenic.
For example, low-density polyethylene (LDPE), commonly used for making shopping bags and cling films, releases large amounts of methane and ethylene gases when heated.
Additionally, some unconventional or "advanced recycling" processes, such as those involving deep chemical decomposition, may generate various toxic chemical wastes, including benzene, lead, cadmium, and chromium, which are then released into the air, causing pollution.
These emissions not only affect air quality but also pose a threat to the health of workers and nearby residents.
2. Particulate Matter (PM) in the Plastic Recycling Process： The crushing and melting processes generate a large amount of dust and smoke particles.
These particles vary in size, with fine particles (such as PM2.5) able to enter the deep respiratory system and even the bloodstream, causing respiratory diseases, cardiovascular diseases, and other health issues.
Studies have shown that the plastic shredding, tearing, and cleaning processes in recycling facilities can convert 6% to 13% of plastic waste into microplastics, which pollute the air. When inhaled, these microplastics can damage lung health.
3. Dioxins in the Plastic Recycling Process： Although large amounts of dioxins are not typically generated in standard mechanical recycling processes, certain informal or "advanced recycling" techniques, such as pyrolysis and gasification, may produce dioxins if temperature control is not properly managed. Dioxins are highly toxic and have potent carcinogenic properties, as well as the potential to cause reproductive and immune system damage.
4. Methane and Ethylene in Plastic Recycling： Research shows that even without combustion, plastics release methane and ethylene, among other greenhouse gases, when exposed to sunlight, exacerbating climate change. The plastic production process (including recycling) is a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions, particularly methane, which is a potent heat-trapping gas.
5. Other Harmful Gases in the Plastic Recycling Process： While we often focus on the most well-known pollutants from plastic recycling, there are numerous other harmful gases that can be generated depending on the type of plastic, its additives, and the processing conditions. Gases such as carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur dioxide (SO₂), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and hydrogen chloride (HCl) can also be released into the air during the recycling process. These pollutants not only contribute to environmental degradation but also pose significant health risks, adding to the already severe impact of plastic waste management on air quality and public health.
Waste gas pollution is a persistent issue in the plastic recycling industry, and while traditional solutions like process optimization, clean energy adoption, pollution control systems, and enhanced environmental monitoring have had some success, they often come with challenges such as inefficiency and high costs.
This is where narrow pulse discharge technology steps in. Known for its efficiency and eco-friendly benefits, this technology is quickly becoming a go-to solution for industrial air pollution control. It has been officially included in China's 2021 "National Catalogue of Advanced Pollution Prevention and Control Technologies" in the areas of air pollution and noise & vibration control. The technology has already demonstrated significant effectiveness in treating odors and VOCs across various industries, including plastic recycling, offering a promising path to cleaner air and reduced environmental impact.
Noah Electric has keenly captured this technological trend and successfully applied it to its core product — the Noah DRE plasma deodorization system. This system offers an efficient solution for odor control in industrial sectors, including the plastic recycling industry.
Noah Electric has keenly captured the enormous potential of Narrow Pulse Discharge Technology and successfully applied it in its core product—the Noah DRE Plasma Odor Removal Equipment. This equipment is specifically designed for industrial odor control and provides an efficient, safe, and reliable waste gas treatment solution for the plastic pelletizing industry.
The Noah DRE Plasma Odor Removal Equipment is composed of two key components (as illustrated):
1. DRE Odor Removal Reaction Chamber: Serving as the core pathway for waste gas treatment, this chamber is often referred to as the "odor removal electric field." Designed with modular flexibility in mind, Noah Electric tailors the reaction chamber to meet varying process requirements and treatment scales. This modular design allows for easy customization, enabling users to configure multiple chambers based on their specific waste gas treatment needs and operational conditions. It also ensures convenient future expansion and upgrades.
2. DRE Plasma Odor Removal Power Supply: The heart of the Narrow Pulse Discharge Technology, this power supply provides the high-voltage pulsed DC necessary for the DRE Odor Removal Reaction Chamber. The power supply, often referred to as the Noah Plasma Power Supply, consists of a compact control cabinet (featuring a water-cooling system and controller) and a high-voltage generator. This design supports parallel integration, allowing users to scale up the output power to meet the requirements of plastic pelletizing businesses of varying sizes. Each standard control module is fully functional and can be operated independently, while each high-voltage generator module includes a dedicated sampling device to ensure the system operates safely and reliably.
The two components work in unison to form the core of the Noah DRE Plasma Odor Removal Equipment: The DRE Plasma Odor Removal Power Supply generates high-voltage pulsed DC, which is delivered to the DRE Odor Removal Reaction Chamber, where it ionizes the air inside, creating a plasma body filled with high-energy electrons, ions, and reactive species. When waste gases containing odor molecules—such as benzene derivatives, aldehydes, ketones, and other pollutants from the plastic pelletizing process—pass through the chamber, they undergo intense collisions and chemical reactions with the high-energy particles in the plasma. This process breaks down the harmful molecules into harmless byproducts, such as carbon dioxide and water, effectively eliminating odors and improving air quality.
4、Working Principle of the Noah DRE Plasma Odor Removal Equipment
NOAH DRE Plasma Odor Removal Equipment ingeniously combines the following two methods to efficiently remove odors and pollutants:
Method 1: Condensation and Settling
• The gaseous water and acidic substances (such as HCl) in the waste gas are cooled inside the DRE odor removal reaction chamber, condensing into droplets larger than 1 μm in diameter, forming mist and acid mist.
• The NOAH DRE Plasma Odor Removal Device is capable of giving these droplets a negative charge. Under the influence of the electric field force, the negatively charged droplets rapidly move toward the anode wall and are collected, thus removing them from the waste gas.
Method 2: High-Energy Pulse Ionization and Cracking
• The core advantage of the NOAH DRE Plasma Odor Removal Power Supply lies in its design, which uses an 80kHz ultrahigh-frequency pulse square wave output, rather than traditional DC or superimposed pulse power supplies. This unique design allows each pulse to have an extremely high energy, up to 20eV, sufficient to break the chemical bonds of most known chemical gas molecules.
• The specific process is as follows：
a. The high-energy pulse first ionizes the oxygen and water vapor in the air, producing highly oxidizing substances such as ozone ions (O₃⁻) and hydroxyl radicals (·OH).
b. These highly reactive ions, free radicals, and high-energy electrons collide violently with the odor molecules in the waste gas (such as benzene, aldehydes, ketones, organic and inorganic compounds containing NH₃, H₂S, CS₂, CH₃SH commonly found in plastic regranulation processes), triggering a series of complex electrochemical reactions.
c. These reactions decompose the pollutant molecules into elemental atoms or smaller, harmless molecules such as carbon dioxide (CO₂) and water (H₂O).
d. This is a chain reaction that rapidly progresses once it begins until the pollutants are completely decomposed. The final products are partially discharged as gases, while some may form particulates or combine with the droplets formed in Method 1, being adsorbed and collected by the electric field, thus achieving compliant emissions.
5、Core Advantages of NOAH DRE Plasma Odor Removal Equipment
Thanks to its advanced narrow pulse discharge technology and ingenious equipment design, the NOAH DRE Plasma Odor Removal Equipment offers the following significant advantages:
• Efficient Degradation: The high-energy density plasma generated by 80kHz high-frequency pulse square waves, combined with both condensation settling and high-energy pulse ionization cracking methods, enables rapid and efficient removal of various odor molecules, thoroughly decomposing them into harmless substances.
• Safe and Reliable: The core power device, IGBT, is sourced from the internationally renowned brand Infineon, ensuring long-term stable operation of the equipment. The main heating components are cooled by a low-power refrigeration unit with forced water cooling, keeping the temperature of the heating components below 45°C even in high-temperature environments (with outdoor temperatures reaching up to 50°C). The high-frequency generator is compact, with a temperature rise not exceeding 25K, and is isolated from the IGBT to prevent high voltage feedback that could damage the IGBT. Multiple safeguard measures ensure the equipment’s safety and reliability in various working conditions.
• Modular Design, Flexible Configuration: The DRE odor removal reaction chamber adopts a modular design, allowing users to configure it flexibly based on actual needs, making it easy to expand, upgrade, and maintain, while reducing investment costs.
• Intelligent Control: Each power supply unit is equipped with advanced remote bus communication functions, enabling remote operation, maintenance, and supervision via the internet. Users can monitor the equipment’s operating status in real-time, identify and address potential issues promptly, and even achieve unmanned operation, significantly reducing operation and maintenance costs. The controller module integrates PWM constant current control and features multiple protective functions such as short circuit, overcurrent, overvoltage, overheating, open circuit, and arc extinction.
• Compliance with Policy Guidance: Narrow pulse discharge technology, as an advanced environmental protection technology, has received strong support and recommendation from relevant Chinese government documents. Adopting this technology not only helps companies solve environmental protection challenges but also enhances corporate image, laying the foundation for sustainable development.
The issue of gas pollution in the plastic regranulation process is a serious concern. While regranulation is an effective solution to plastic pollution, it’s essential to implement measures that mitigate its adverse effects on both the environment and human health. The NOAH DRE Plasma Odor Removal Equipment, powered by its advanced narrow pulse discharge technology, offers a highly efficient, safe, and reliable solution for waste gas treatment in the plastic regranulation industry. By harnessing the powerful oxidizing capabilities of high-energy plasma, this system rapidly breaks down harmful substances in the waste gas, converting complex organic pollutants into harmless byproducts such as carbon dioxide (CO₂) and water (H₂O).
By adopting this innovative technology, businesses can not only tackle environmental challenges but also enhance their corporate image, creating a synergy that delivers both economic and social benefits.
In addition, reducing plastic consumption, improving waste management practices, and fostering a circular economy are all vital steps in minimizing the environmental impact of plastics, particularly the air pollution generated during the recycling process.
While plastic regranulation plays a critical role in addressing plastic pollution, it also presents its own environmental challenges, including air pollution. To achieve a dual win—environmental sustainability and economic growth—it’s essential to continue advancing recycling technologies, reduce emissions, and accelerate the green transformation of the plastic industry. The NOAH DRE Plasma Odor Removal Equipment will be a cornerstone in this journey, helping build a cleaner and more beautiful world while steering the plastic regranulation industry toward a greener, more sustainable future.
By embracing this cutting-edge solution, the plastic industry can take a significant step forward in mitigating pollution, improving efficiency, and contributing to the global movement toward a more eco-friendly future.
