What is the primary purpose of using wet scrubbers?

What is the primary purpose of using wet scrubbers?

• A. To remove sulfur dioxide
• B. To remove carbon monoxide
• C. To remove nitrogen oxides
• D. To remove methane

Answer: (A)

Wet scrubbers work by bringing the polluted gas into contact with a liquid absorbent, so they capture pollutants that dissolve or react with the liquid. The main target is sulfur dioxide, because SO2 dissolves readily in the scrubbing liquid and reacts to form soluble sulfites or sulfates, which removes it from the gas stream. This makes wet scrubbers especially effective for cleaning up acid gases produced by burning sulfur-containing fuels. Carbon monoxide isn’t easily removed by dissolution in water, so it’s not the primary reason to use a wet scrubber. Nitrogen oxides can be affected in some scrubber designs, but they’re not the main pollutant these systems are built to remove. Methane is largely insoluble and requires different treatment methods. So the primary purpose of wet scrubbers is to remove sulfur dioxide.

Wet scrubbers work by bringing the polluted gas into contact with a liquid absorbent, so they capture pollutants that dissolve or react with the liquid. The main target is sulfur dioxide, because SO2 dissolves readily in the scrubbing liquid and reacts to form soluble sulfites or sulfates, which removes it from the gas stream. This makes wet scrubbers especially effective for cleaning up acid gases produced by burning sulfur-containing fuels.

Carbon monoxide isn’t easily removed by dissolution in water, so it’s not the primary reason to use a wet scrubber. Nitrogen oxides can be affected in some scrubber designs, but they’re not the main pollutant these systems are built to remove. Methane is largely insoluble and requires different treatment methods. So the primary purpose of wet scrubbers is to remove sulfur dioxide.