Abstract: “A Higee-scrubber, in the form of a rotating packed bed, has shown dramatic improvement in its absorption performance as compared with a conventional scrubber. But the absorption is often limited to hydrophilic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) with water-based solvents, simply because hydrophobic VOCs are relatively insoluble in the aqueous system. In this report, we experimentally demonstrated that this novel Higee-scrubber could handle dual-solvent (e.g. water/silicone oil) properly due to its centrifugal force. Consequently, simultaneous removal of both hydrophobic VOC (e.g. toluene) and hydrophilic VOC (e.g. isopropanol) was efficiently accomplished in a single unit. This Higee-scrubber showed not only the superior absorption performance but also the capability of handling solvents of significant viscosity difference and immiscibility, thus, drastically expanding its applicability.”

Keywords: Higee-scrubber, rotating packed bed, dual-solvent absorption, hydrophobic and hydrophilic VOC