Haldor Topsoe, FLSmidth to jointly market catalytic filter bag technology
Haldor Topsoe A/S, a leader in catalysis, and FLSmidth A/S, a supplier of equipment and services to the global cement and minerals industries, have signed a cooperation agreement to commercialize a newly developed unique catalytic filter bag technology.
The product will be branded as EnviroTex catalytic filter bags and will be capable of removing dust, volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides (NOx) in one integrated process. The companies have been working closely for four years to develop, test and prove the technology for several industrial applications including power, biomass, cement, waste incineration and glass and metal production.
The companies said the differentiating factor of the patent-pending catalytic filter bags lies is the three layers of filter fabric, each of which contain a tailored catalyst optimized for the removal of specific kinds of compounds from the off-gas that passes through it. Fabric filters applications are often used as a final purification step to remove particulate matter from the flue gas.
“We have created a unique product that will allow customers to meet increasingly stringent environmental legislation at a fraction of the operating cost that even the best available technologies offer today,” said Bjerne S. Clausen, CEO of Haldor Topsoe. “The three-layer structure is unique because it allows the flexibility to tailor different catalytic combinations for different industries.
Thomas Schulz, CEO of FLSmidth, said, “Initially, we believe the US market will benefit from the product because cement producers here face challenges to meet new regulatory requirements that have been issued by the US EPA that take effect in September 2015. In the longer term, China may hold an even greater market potential as stricter emission legislation is being imposed there.”
The product will be manufactured at FLSmidth’s bag production facilities in Georgia; the filter bags will then be catalyzed and assembled at Topsoe’s catalyst production site in Houston, Texas. Topsoe’s production site will be expanded with a new production line dedicated to the production of EnviroTex catalytic filter bags.
The goal is to complete construction of this facility by the end of 2015.
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