Emission characteristics and control efficiency of acidic and basic gases and aerosols from packed towers

Large amount of acidic liquids, such as H2SO4, HF, HCl and HNO3, and basic NH3 liquid are used in high-tech industries in cleaning and etching processes in the Hsinchu Science-Based Industrial Park in Taiwan. The industries use packed towers (or scrubbers) to control emission of these inorganic pollutants, in which acidic gases but not particles are regulated by the Taiwan EPA’s strict emission standard for semiconductor industry. To understand whether the emission standard is met and to investigate the emission rates, emission profiles, emission factors, and control efficiencies of various gaseous/aerosol species, measurement of pollutants before and after the packed towers was conducted using a sensitive porous metal sampler during January 2001 to February 2003. Results show that the pollutants are mainly in the gaseous phase, and the control efficiency of pollutants is low and variable when the inlet concentration is low. In addition to the control efficiency data, emission factors before the control device for various gas and particle species have also been developed for estimating the emission rates.