kiln emissions control

[Craig Jensen]

Anyone aware of RTO being used on lumber dry kilns anywhere? (Regerative Thermal Oxidizer)

[ingo wallocha]

What is that? Never heard of it.

[MichaelM]

RTO - Regenerative Thermal Oxidizer.
I have not heard of any on kilns.  The capital cost for an RTO would be more than that of the kiln and consume lots of energy.  It heats the exhaust air to about 1600F to change all organics to CO2 and H2O.  Some of the energy is recovered (regenerative), but they are still large consumers of natural gas.  To use one you must capture all the exhaust gas meaning ductwork in kiln or to all vents. They are common on board presses and some veneer and particle dryers.