Three-stage Acid Wet Scrubber for Ethylene Oxide (EtO/EO) abatement

Challenge

Terumo Yamaguchi Corporation Japan, a subsidiary of Terumo Corporation, specializes in the production of high-quality medical devices and pharmaceutical products. To ensure sterility, the facility uses ethylene oxide (EtO) as a sterilizing agent.

Due to the hazardous nature of EtO, an efficient abatement system was required to treat emissions from both the sterilization chambers and the aeration rooms.

A key challenge was the need to treat two very different air streams:

• A low-flow, high-concentration EtO stream from the sterilizers
• A high-flow, low-concentration EtO stream from the aeration rooms

In addition, the system had to consistently achieve high removal efficiencies under fluctuating and discontinuous gas flows, in order to comply with strict environmental standards.

The complete scrubber unit also had to be transported from Belgium to Japan, requiring careful engineering, modularisation and logistical coordination.

Solution

In collaboration with Tomoe Shokai, Trevi designed a custom three-stage acid wet scrubber.

• The first stage treats the concentrated emissions from the sterilization chambers.
• In the second stage, the high-volume, lower-concentration air from the aeration rooms is integrated.
• The third stage ensures a consistently high overall removal efficiency (99.66%).

The use of acid wet scrubbing technology guarantees immediate availability and reliable operation. The compact and modular design allowed the installation to be transported to Japan and installed on-site without complications.

Result

The final installation ensures safe and highly efficient removal of ethylene oxide under variable operating conditions.

The intelligent multi-stage design maximizes performance while ensuring compliance with stringent environmental requirements, providing Terumo with a reliable and robust long-term abatement solution.