Industrial processes across the energy, chemical and storage sectors can generate harmful gases and vapours that pose risks to the environment, workers and surrounding communities. Effective emissions control is therefore an important component of modern production and storage facilities, helping operators meet environmental regulations while maintaining safe working conditions.

Stationary emission-control systems, including vapour recovery units (VRUs), are commonly used to capture and treat volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) generated during industrial operations.

However, when a stationary VRU becomes unavailable due to equipment failure, malfunction or scheduled maintenance, operators can face significant operational challenges. Without an effective emissions-treatment system in operation, the uncontrolled release of hazardous or environmentally harmful vapours may require affected processes to be suspended.

Mobile systems provide a temporary alternative

To help avoid extended shutdowns and the associated financial and operational consequences, mobile vapour combustion units can provide temporary emissions treatment while a stationary VRU is offline.

These mobile systems can be deployed during maintenance or unexpected equipment outages, providing operators with an alternative means of treating vapours while the permanent emissions-control equipment is repaired or serviced.

The approach can help facilities maintain operations while reducing the risk of uncontrolled emissions during periods when their primary VRU is unavailable.

Supporting operational continuity

Temporary replacement systems can be particularly valuable for industrial facilities where an extended shutdown could result in significant production losses, logistical disruption and additional costs.

Flexible mobile combustion chambers can be transported to a facility and connected to the relevant emissions system, allowing vapours to be treated during the VRU outage. Once the permanent equipment has been restored, the temporary system can be removed.

This approach provides operators with greater flexibility when planning maintenance and responding to unexpected equipment failures.

Balancing emissions compliance and reliability

The temporary deployment of mobile emissions-treatment equipment illustrates the growing importance of flexibility and redundancy in industrial emissions management.

For facilities handling volatile or hazardous materials, maintaining effective vapour treatment is not only an environmental consideration but also an important element of operational and workplace safety.

By providing a temporary emissions-control solution during VRU outages, mobile vapour combustion technology can help operators reduce downtime while maintaining appropriate controls over potentially harmful vapours.

The technology and temporary replacement approach are detailed by ETS Degassing, which has published guidance on the use of mobile vapour combustion units as a replacement for stationary VRUs during outages.

For more information visit www.ets-degassing.com/en/home/