Control Technologies for Solvent Emissions from Cottonseed Oil Extraction Plants

摘要

Five cottonseed oil manufacturing plants in California's Central Valley were surveyed using an organic vapor analyzer to detect and estimate processing and fugitive emissions of hexane from the solvent extraction of crushed cottonseed. Daily hexane emissions from these five plants are estimated to be seven tons. The surveys indicate that, generally, the most serious solvent leaks occur at viewing windows, flanges, access doors and other sealed enclosures where packing glands and seals are failing. The authors conclude the major portion of solvent loss is due to poor maintenance and poor housekeeping rather than to equipment design. Summertime losses generally are twice those of wintertime, attributed primarily to hexane's higher vapor pressure at the elevated temperatures.