Catalytic incineration of emissions for energy conservation. Catalytic incineration is often economically attractive as an alternative to thermal incineration for petroleum and petrochemical process organic emissions

For many petroleum and petrochemical processes, gaseous organic emissions may require control devices such as incinerators to be installed. In many of these cases, catalytic incineration may be the most cost-effective choice. Even where the initial cost of the catalytic incinerator is greater than a comparable-performance thermal incinerator, the lower fuel costs of the catalytic incinerator pay this cost differential back very quickly (1/2 to 2 years). Catalytic incineration can not only be used for pollution control, but also for energy recovery from streams containing combustible gases. The cost of the catalytic incinerator is soon paid back by the recovered-energy credits (1-3 years). (JMT)