Effect of Smoke Velocity Variation on the Effectiveness of a Water Scrubber with Potassium Hydroxide (KOH) Solution in the Purification of NH₃ and H₂S

Abstract

This study aims to develop a flue gas capture device by adding potassium hydroxide (KOH) solution into the water scrubber system
to increase the effectiveness of removing pollutant gases and odors from the municipal solid waste (MSW) drying process at a
temperature of 110°C. The MSW drying process produces pollutant gases such as CO, CO₂, CH₄ (odorless), and NH₃ and H₂S
(odorous). Flue gas is flowed through a smoke chamber using a blower to a water scrubber that utilizes fluid turbulence to capture
fly ash, NH₃, and H₂S. The scrubber uses 18 liters of water with the addition of 0.8 Mol KOH solution. The study tested variations
in smoke flow speed between 15–30 m/s for 15 minutes to determine the optimal speed in gas purification. The results showed that
a flow velocity of 25 m/s provided the most effective results, with a reduction in NH₃ concentration from 24.06 ppm to 1.3 ppm, and
H₂S from 24.95 ppm to 9.1 ppm. This velocity resulted in a capture efficiency of 7.53%, making it the most optimal variation for
the purification process.