Stenter fume abatement technology

The highly visible sub-micron oil droplets evolved during finishing operations on Stenter machines create dense smoke and associated odour emissions which have long been unacceptable to affected local residents and more recently to the UK Environment Agencies.


A ‘turnkey’ solution to Stenter emission problems is now available in a multi-stage fume abatement package, without the need to replace costly, throwaway filter elements and the disposal problems associated with them.

The company has installed a Carter fume abatement plant to clean up the exhaust gas from a 14,000m3/hr (variable) Stenter which finishes in excess of six million metres of fabric each year.

The system employs an additional fanset, sized in excess of the existing Stenter exhaust fan. This second fan draws the hot Stenter exhaust gas through the multi-stage Air Cleaning Equipment (ACE) without affecting the performance of the primary fan.

When the gas enters the plant, any loose lint ‘fly’ and particulate matter are filtered out through a series of washable filters. The gas is then drawn through air-to-water heat exchangers where the temperature is reduced to ensure the oil vapour has condensed into droplets. (The hot water generated by the cooling process offers a large energy saving where hot water is required for dyeing and other production processes, or can provide the means of heating up ambient air for distribution into production areas and thereby reducing demands for gas/oil or electric heating.)

The cooled gas then enters a coalescing filter to remove any large droplets still either present in the air stream or which have been stripped off the heat exchangers. Again the coalescing filter is fully washable.

The gas, now containing a mist of very fine oil droplets and impurities, enters the principal cleaning section of the plant, the Electrostatic Precipitators (EP). Charged particles pass through the collector section of the EP, which consists of a series of negatively and positively charged plates which collect the charged droplets/impurities.

Finally, a washable coalescing filter removes any large droplets stripped off the EP plates. The gas is then discharged to atmosphere with emission levels well below the requirements of the EPA, and with resultant odour levels being virtually eliminated.

This technology, therefore, provides clients with an installation that meets specific site needs necessary to achieve or better the emission levels specified in the EPA 1990 guidance notes for air pollution control, including the elimination of nuisance problems common to the textile industry.


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