“Achievements in the efficient utilization of thermal energy from yellow phosphorus exhaust gases and the application of key technologies for exhaust gas treatment

Thread Content

Recently, the People’s Government of Yunnan Province officially released the “Decision of the People’s Government of Yunnan Province on Science and Technology Awards for the Year 2024”. Among numerous nominated projects, the achievement titled “Efficient utilization of thermal energy from yellow phosphorus off-gas and application of key technologies for flue gas treatment”, jointly developed by a research team led by Kunming University of Science and Technology, along with research teams from Shandong Baolan Environmental Protection Co., Ltd., Hebei Qingxin New Energy Technology Co., Ltd., and Yunnan Xuanwei Phosphorus & Electricity Co., Ltd., stood out and won the First Prize of the 2024 Yunnan Provincial Science and Technology Progress Award. Yellow phosphorus is one of the key foundational industries in China’s national economy, and the issue of exhaust gas treatment poses a threat to high-quality economic development, posing challenges to both the environment and industry. For a long time, exhaust gases have been discharged directly, containing large amounts of acidic substances. Technically, exhaust gases contain many impurities, have a complex composition, are highly corrosive and sticky; they can corrode equipment and clog pipes. The challenge of achieving ultra-low emissions hinders the industry’s green transformation. Gao Heming, technical director of Baolan Environmental Protection Company and one of the developers of this project’s achievements, explained that the development of magnetic energy purification and whitening technology has provided a new approach to addressing the challenges associated with treating yellow phosphorus exhaust gases. This technology is based on the fundamental principle that magnetic energy generators can produce stable and controllable magnetic field energy. As a result, both magnetic and non-magnetic substances in flue gas pollutants are magnetized to varying degrees under the influence of an external magnetic field. This magnetization acts like a “precise scalpel”, enabling the efficient separation of pollutants from flue gas. Gao Heming said that when the flue gas enters the magnetic energy whitening equipment developed by Kunming University of Science and Technology and Baolan Environmental Protection Company, magnetic energy acts rapidly on the mixed pollutants, magnetizing them. During this process, physical properties such as the diffusion coefficient, surface tension, and viscosity of the water mist increase significantly. The mixed pollutants continuously flow, collide, aggregate, and condense in the magnetic field along with the flue gas, ultimately forming “magnetic agglomeration”. These “magnetic agglomerates” adhere to the inner wall of the magnetic energy tube, gradually forming layers of liquid film. The liquid film contains various mixed pollutants, which are discharged in an orderly manner through the drainage outlets, thereby achieving thorough purification of the flue gas. Compared with traditional flue gas treatment methods, the magnetic energy whitening technology possesses significant innovative advantages. On the one hand, it requires no addition of chemical reagents, thereby fundamentally preventing the occurrence of secondary pollution. In today’s era of increasingly strict environmental regulations, this advantage makes magnetic energy whitening technology more in line with the concept of green development. On the other hand, this technology is efficient, environmentally friendly, and sustainable. It is capable of carrying out in-depth treatment of the various pollutants present in flue gas, raising the purification efficiency to levels close to zero emissions as indicated by online monitoring data, while also addressing the issues of unpleasant odors and visual pollution. It provides a practical solution to the challenge of treating phosphorus yellow waste gas. In addition, magnetic energy purification and whitening technology equipment has the advantages of being easy to operate and having low costs. In practical applications, this process technology offers high precision control; it enables the adjustment of the equipment’s operating power based on the amount of flue gas, thereby helping to reduce costs and increase efficiency.