Process simulation and economic analysis of reactor systems for perfluorinated compounds abatement without HF effluent

Abstract

New and efficient reactor systems were proposed to treat perfluorinated compounds via catalytic decomposition. One system has a single reactor (S-1), and another has a series of reactors (S-2). Both systems are capable of producing a valuable CaF2 and eliminating toxic HF effluent and their feasibility was studied at various temperatures with a commercial process simulator, Aspen HYSYSA (R). They are better than the conventional system, and S-2 is better than S-1 in terms of CaF2 production, a required heat for the system, natural gas usage and CO2 emissions in a boiler, and energy consumption. Based on process simulation results, preliminary economic analysis shows that cost savings of 12.37% and 13.55% were obtained in S-2 at 589.6 and 621.4 degrees C compared to S-1 at 700 and 750 degrees C, respectively, for the same amount of CaF2 production.