The Gas Suspension Absorber at Norcem´s Brevik plant

In the cement industry many plants are looking for ways to reduce their gaseous emissions to comply with new environmental laws. Such is the case with the Norcem plant in Brevik, Norway, which committed to reduce emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO₂) by 400 tons per year. This is part of the Gothenburg Protocol, an objective to reduce overall industrial sulfur emissions in Norway by 5,000 tons by the end of the year 2010. To accomplish this, a semi-dry scrubber system called a Gas Suspension Absorber (GSA) was purchased in 2009 and installed in early 2010 as an alternative to a more costly wet scrubber. The GSA system has been commissioned and optimized during 2010 and initial test results indicate that the Brevik plant will achieve their new emissions targets for SO₂, as well as reducing emissions of hydrochloric acid (HCl) and hydrofluoric acid (HF). The plant is also well positioned to reduce mercury emissions in the future with the addition of shuttling or wasting dust from the dust collector after the GSA. This paper will review the details of this project and the results that were attained.