NEWS RELEASE                                                                                                    JULY 2013

Sales of Thermal Treatment Systems to Exceed $1.9 Billion Next Year

Sales of air pollution control systems using thermal treatment will be just under $2 billion in 2014. This is the conclusion reached by the McIlvaine Company in its Thermal/Catalytic World Air Pollution Markets.

($ Million)

Subject

2014

 Catalytic Oxidizer

 447  

 RCO

 78  

 RTO

 943  

 Thermal

 503  

Total

1,971

These forecasts do not include any stationary engine CO or NOx reduction systems. No mobile applications are included. The largest product segment will be the regenerative thermal oxidizer. It will account for nearly half the 2014 sales.

The regenerative thermal oxidizer was invented by a small company in the 1980s. This company was sold several times and is presently part of Durr. Suppliers of regenerative thermal oxidizers have two origins:

  • Suppliers of pollution generating equipment such as dryers and painting systems (Durr, Eisenmann, and Megtec).
  • Suppliers of other air pollution control equipment such as catalytic oxidizers and scrubbers (CECO).

The regenerative thermal oxidizer has a higher capital cost than a catalytic oxidizer or a simple thermal oxidizer but consumes less energy (at least when there is little fuel value in the contaminant stream). A simple flare is used when the fuel value is high.

The suppliers of systems purchase key components such as the saddles or other fill material. They also purchase or manufacture the dampers which are an important component. System suppliers generally furnish control systems of their own design with DCS or PLC systems supplied by companies such as Emerson, ABB and Yokogawa. Normally the continuous emissions monitoring systems (CEMS) are not purchased by the RTO customer but directly by the operator. CEMS systems suppliers include Thermo Fisher, B&W (KVB Enertec) and Horiba.

The installed cost of an RTO system in 2012 U.S. dollars is approximately $30 per cfm. Larger applications range to 100,000 cfm. There are a number of suppliers of small systems for soil remediation. These units are often rented for a year or six months rather than sold.

For more information on Thermal/Catalytic World Air Pollution Markets, click on: http://home.mcilvainecompany.com/index.php/markets/2-uncategorised/105-n007