Lavadores de gases nas indústrias: uma breve revisão sobre os impactos da sua utilização no controle da poluição atmosférica, atendimento a legislação ambiental e saúde humana

Abstract

Industrial activities are traditionally recognized as actions potentially degrading the environment due to the fact that, among several adversities, they are sources that generate atmospheric pollutants. In the current national political and economic scenario, where companies are increasingly struggling to invest in operational improvements and often under pressure from increasingly restrictive Environmental Legislation, their objective has been to undertake a brief review of the use of an equipment - low cost, compact, easy to construct, maintenance and operation - for the control of pollution and reduction of gases and, mainly, particulate material from the most diverse industrial processes. The operating principle of the proposed equipment consists of collecting the atmospheric emissions and directing their flow through a vertical water washing tower, this equipment being commonly known as a gas scrubber. There are several types and models of washer, but the present work addresses the operation of the Spray Tower or Spray Tower type washer. The conclusions presented demonstrate that the use of this device can significantly reduce the rates and concentrations of air pollutants and that it can be widely used as an efficient and cost effective equipment in the control of atmospheric emissions and compliance with Environmental Legislation.