The carbon dioxide recovery apparatus has a dryer having a hygroscopic agent for drying a gas, and a separator for separating carbon dioxide from the gas dried by the dryer and discharging a residual gas from which carbon dioxide has been separated. The recovery apparatus further includes an introduction part for introducing a regeneration gas from outside for regenerating the hygroscopic agent, a regeneration system capable of supplying one of the regeneration gas introduced from the introduction part and the residual gas discharged from the separator to the dryer, and a switching mechanism for switching supply by the regeneration system between the regeneration gas and the residual gas in response to regeneration of the hygroscopic agent.

A reduction device, an acid gas recovery device, a recovery device collector, and a first removed substance returning line are provided. The reduction device is configured to perform a reduction process to turn iron oxide to reduced iron by adding a reducing agent. The acid gas recovery device is configured to recover CO.sub.2 being acid gas with CO2 absorbing liquid being acid gas absorbing liquid from exhaust gas containing at least powder-shaped iron-based solid substances and the acid gas, which are discharged from the reduction device. The recovery device collector is configured to collect the iron-based solid substance contained in the absorbing liquid with a filter. The iron-based solid substances collected by the recovery device collector are removed, and removed substances containing the removed iron-based solid substances are returned to the reduction device side through the first removed substance returning line.

A materials processing furnace provides for debinding and sintering objects and treating effluent generated by the sintering. A heating chamber maintains a controlled atmosphere for sintering the object. A vacuum pump evacuates an effluent from the heating chamber, and an injector adds a reagent to the evacuated effluent to form a mixed gas. A catalytic converter receives the mixed gas and catalyzes one or more hazardous or offensive compounds of the effluent, thereby converting the effluent to a safer and less offensive exhaust. As a result, the furnace is suitable for operation in an office environment.

An apparatus and a method are useful for removing pollutants from process effluent gas produced by an electrolytic cell used in an aluminum production plant to produce aluminum. The apparatus and method use a flow control device to control alumina supply to an electrolytic cell and to a dry scrubber contact reactor.

Provided is a hydrolysis reaction device for dechlorination and decyanation of blast furnace gas, including a tower body, where a top of the tower body is provided with an air inlet channel, and a bottom of the tower body is provided with an air outlet channel, and functional zones are arranged in the tower body. The functional zones are sequentially an air inlet zone, a first protective agent zone, a first transition zone, a second protective agent zone, a second transition zone, a hydrolysis zone and an air outlet zone along a gas direction, and adjacent functional zones are communicated. Feed holes and discharge holes are uniformly arranged on an outer side surface of the tower body. Gas in a tower radially passes through the protective agent zones and the hydrolysis zone.

A system and method of direct reduction of iron (DRI) is disclosed, having a reduction unit configured to reduce iron oxides to metallic iron; a process gas heater coupled to the reduction unit, the process gas heater configured to supply the reduction unit directly with a source of heated reducing gas, where the process gas heater is further configured to receive a synthetic combustion air stream for heating the reducing gas, the synthetic combustion air stream comprising a source of oxygen with essentially no nitrogen. A method of carbon dioxide emission reduction from a direct reduction of iron (DRI) process is also disclosed.

The invention pertains to processes for separating gases, acid gas, hydrocarbons, air gases, or combinations thereof. The processes may employ using a liquid phase cloud point with or without subsequent liquid-liquid separation. In some embodiments membranes can be employed with reverse osmosis to regenerate a solvent and/or an antisolvent. In some embodiments thermal switching phase changes may be employed during absorption or desorption to facilitate separation.

A process for processing metal ore includes: reducing a metal ore, particularly a metallic oxide, in a blast furnace shaft; producing furnace gas containing CO.sub.2, in the blast furnace shaft; discharging the furnace gas from the blast furnace shaft; directing at least a portion of the furnace gas directly or indirectly into a CO.sub.2-converter; and converting the CO.sub.2 contained in the furnace gas into an aerosol consisting of a carrier gas and C-particles in the CO.sub.2-converter in the presence of a stoichiometric surplus of C; directing at least a first portion of the aerosol from the CO.sub.2-converter into the blast furnace shaft; and introducing H.sub.2O into the blast furnace shaft. By virtue of the reaction C+H.sub.2O.fwdarw.CO.sub.2+2H, nascent hydrogen is produced in the blast furnace which causes rapid reduction of the metal ore. The speed of reduction of the metal ore is thus increased, and it is possible to increase either the throughput capacity of the blast furnace or to reduce the size of the blast furnace. An aerosol in the form of a fluid is easily introducible into the blast furnace shaft.

A process where a gas, containing SO.sub.2 and O.sub.2 is brought in contact with a mixture of from 95% vol. to 50% vol. of activated carbon catalyst and from 5% vol. to 50% vol. of an inert filler material, where the SO.sub.2 is converted to H.sub.2SO.sub.4 on the activated carbon catalyst and is then washed from the activated carbon catalyst to obtain a H.sub.2SO.sub.4 solution.

A catalyst comprises a mixture of 95% vol. to 30% vol. of an activated carbon catalyst and from 5% vol. to 70% vol. of a filler material as well as a configuration of such a catalyst for the removal of SO.sub.2, heavy metals and/or dioxins form waste gas and liquids.