Home » Ducon Wet Scrubbers: Custom-Engineered Solutions for Industrial Dust, Fume, and Acid Gas Control A wet scrubber is an air pollution control system that uses liquid contact to remove contaminants from industrial exhaust gas streams. Depending on the design, a wet scrubber can remove particulate matter, fumes, acid gases, soluble gases, and certain mist-forming contaminants. Wet scrubbers are commonly used in chemical processing, metal processing, mining, foundries, food processing, power generation, material handling, and other industrial applications where the gas stream may be hot, humid, corrosive, sticky, or difficult to handle with dry collection equipment. Ducon wet scrubbers are custom-engineered based on gas flow, gas temperature, pollutant type, inlet loading, required outlet emissions, available pressure drop, scrubbing liquid chemistry, and materials of construction. Ducon wet scrubbers are industrial air pollution control systems designed to remove particulate matter, fumes, acid gases, and other contaminants from process exhaust streams. The system brings contaminated gas into contact with water or a chemically treated scrubbing liquid. During this contact, particulate matter is captured by liquid droplets or wetted surfaces, while soluble gases are absorbed into the liquid and, when required, neutralized using the proper chemical reagent. Ducon wet scrubbers can be designed for dust collection, gas cooling, quenching, acid-gas absorption, fume control, and combined particulate-and-gas removal applications. The correct scrubber selection depends on the process conditions. A wet scrubber used for coarse particulate removal may be different from a scrubber used for acid gas absorption, gas cooling, or fine particulate control. A wet scrubber works by bringing contaminated gas into contact with a scrubbing liquid. This contact can occur through spray nozzles, wetted vanes, liquid pools, dynamic scrubbing sections, venturi sections, or packed media. During this process: The scrubbing liquid is normally collected in an integral sump or separate recirculation tank. It may be reused, chemically treated, blown down, or discharged depending on the application and wastewater requirements. Mist eliminator selection is also important because it helps reduce liquid carryover into downstream fans, ducts, stacks, heat exchangers, carbon beds, or other equipment. Ducon wet scrubbers can be designed to control: Wet scrubbers can help control certain VOCs and odors when the compounds are suitable for liquid scrubbing. Ducon reviews each application carefully to recommend the right solution based on the gas composition, temperature, concentration, and required performance. Actual removal efficiency depends on gas flow, pollutant concentration, particle-size distribution, gas temperature, gas humidity, liquid-to-gas ratio, pressure drop, scrubbing chemistry, mist eliminator performance, and selected scrubber configuration. Ducon offers multiple wet scrubber configurations to handle different industrial applications. Each design is selected based on the pollutant type, inlet loading, required outlet emissions, operating temperature, available pressure drop, corrosion potential, maintenance access, and wastewater considerations. The Ducon UW-3 Dynamic Wet Scrubber is commonly used for general industrial particulate, fume, and gas-cooling applications. Best used for: Typical applications: The UW-3 may be selected when the gas stream contains dust, fumes, or soluble gaseous contaminants and the application requires a reliable wet scrubbing solution with moderate pressure drop. The Ducon UW-4 Dynamic Wet Scrubber is used for more demanding service conditions involving high particulate loading, abrasive materials, high-temperature exhaust, or difficult process conditions. Best used for: Typical applications: The UW-4 is commonly considered when the application requires a rugged wet scrubber design for difficult particulate service. Final selection is based on particle size, inlet loading, required efficiency, allowable pressure drop, liquid rate, and material compatibility. The Ducon Multivane Centrifugal Wet Scrubber is primarily used for particulate control, especially where the gas stream contains coarse particles, high dust loading, or sticky particulate. Its wetted vane design and centrifugal action help separate particles from the gas stream. The open internal arrangement can also be beneficial where fouling resistance and maintenance access are important. Best used for: Typical applications: When acid gas removal is also required, a multivane scrubber can be combined with a packed-bed absorber or another downstream gas absorption stage. Packed-bed wet scrubbers are generally selected for high-efficiency removal of soluble acid gases or alkaline gases. The gas passes through wetted packing media, which creates a large gas-liquid contact area. The recirculating liquid may use water, caustic soda, sulfuric acid, or another reagent selected based on the pollutant chemistry. Best used for: Typical applications: Packed-bed scrubbers are commonly used when the primary goal is gas absorption. When the gas stream also contains particulate, a particulate removal stage may be installed upstream of the packed bed to help maintain performance and reduce fouling. Spray towers and quench scrubbers are commonly used for gas cooling, quenching, preliminary particulate removal, and absorption of highly soluble gases. Their open design can be useful for hot, sticky, or fouling gas streams and can provide simpler maintenance compared to packed-bed scrubbers. Best used for: Typical applications: Spray towers are often used as part of a larger system when the application requires gas cooling, conditioning, or pre-scrubbing before a downstream control device. The final scrubber selection should be based on the actual gas flow, pollutant type, inlet loading, required outlet emissions, gas temperature, humidity, available pressure drop, wastewater requirements, and material compatibility. Ducon evaluates the following when selecting and designing a wet scrubber system: Wet scrubber performance and guarantees should always be based on defined inlet conditions, operating conditions, liquid chemistry, and applicable test methods. Depending on the application, Ducon wet scrubbers can be manufactured using: Material selection depends on gas chemistry, liquid chemistry, operating temperature, chlorides, abrasion, corrosion potential, and expected service life. For acid gas or chloride-containing applications, corrosion resistance is especially important. For abrasive particulate applications, thickness, wear allowance, and erosion resistance may also be considered. A complete Ducon wet scrubber package may include: The final scope of supply can be customized based on project requirements. Ducon provides custom-engineered wet scrubber systems for industrial applications involving particulate, fumes, acid gases, corrosive exhaust streams, and high-temperature process gases. Multiple wet scrubber configurations allow the system to be matched to the process conditions, pollutant characteristics, required outlet emissions, available pressure drop, and maintenance requirements. Ducon can provide complete wet scrubber systems including the scrubber vessel, recirculation equipment, pumps, instruments, fan, controls, duct transitions, structural accessories, and other project-specific components. A wet scrubber uses liquid to capture particulate or absorb gases. A dry dust collector uses filter bags, cartridges, or mechanical separation to collect dry particulate. Wet scrubbers are often selected for hot, humid, sticky, corrosive, or gas-absorption applications. Dry collectors are often selected when the particulate is dry, non-sticky, and the process does not require gas cooling or gas absorption. Yes. A wet scrubber system can be designed for both particulate and acid-gas control. In many applications, a multi-stage system is used. One stage may be selected for particulate removal, while another stage may be selected for gas absorption or chemical neutralization. For example, a dynamic or multivane scrubber may be used for particulate control, followed by a packed-bed scrubber for acid gas absorption. Packed-bed scrubbers are commonly used for high-efficiency acid-gas removal because they provide a large wetted contact area between the gas and scrubbing liquid. The scrubbing liquid and chemical reagent are selected based on the gas chemistry, required removal efficiency, and wastewater requirements. For high dust loading or coarse particulate, a Multivane Centrifugal Wet Scrubber or dynamic wet scrubber may be selected depending on particle size, dust loading, temperature, pressure drop, and maintenance requirements. For abrasive or severe-duty conditions, the UW-4 Dynamic Wet Scrubber is commonly considered. Yes. Wet scrubbers can be designed to cool, quench, or saturate hot gas streams while removing particulate or soluble gases. Spray towers, quench scrubbers, and dynamic wet scrubbers are commonly used when gas cooling is part of the process requirement. Wet scrubbers can help control certain VOCs and odors when the compounds are suitable for liquid scrubbing. For these applications, Ducon reviews the gas composition, concentration, temperature, humidity, solubility, and required removal efficiency before recommending the right solution. Depending on the application, the solution may include wet scrubbing, chemical scrubbing, carbon adsorption, oxidation, condensation, or a multi-stage treatment system. A mist eliminator helps remove entrained liquid droplets from the cleaned gas before discharge. Proper mist elimination helps reduce visible mist, liquid carryover, duct wetting, fan issues, stack drainage, and downstream equipment problems. Important design information includes gas flow rate, gas temperature, gas pressure, humidity, pollutant type, inlet concentration, particulate loading, particle-size distribution, required outlet emissions, available pressure drop, scrubbing liquid chemistry, wastewater limitations, and material requirements. For a detailed wet scrubber evaluation, please provide the gas flow rate, gas temperature, gas pressure, humidity, pollutant type, inlet concentration, particulate loading, particle-size distribution, required outlet emission limit, available pressure drop, and any wastewater or chemical limitations. Ducon can review your process conditions and recommend a suitable wet scrubber configuration for your application.
Ducon Wet Scrubbers: Custom-Engineered Solutions for Industrial Dust, Fume, and Acid Gas Control
What Is a Wet Scrubber?
What Are Ducon Wet Scrubbers?
How Does a Wet Scrubber Work?
What Pollutants Can Wet Scrubbers Remove?
Ducon Wet Scrubber Configurations
UW-3 Dynamic Wet Scrubber
General dust collection, fume control, moderate particulate loading, and gas-cooling applications.
Process ventilation, furnace exhaust, chemical process exhaust, industrial dust control, and general fume control.
UW-4 Dynamic Wet Scrubber
Abrasive dust, heavy particulate loading, severe-duty applications, and high-temperature exhaust streams.
Foundries, mineral processing, metallurgical operations, abrasive dust collection, furnace exhaust, and industrial processes with challenging particulate conditions.
Multivane Centrifugal Wet Scrubber
Coarse particulate, sticky dust, high dust loading, and applications requiring a more open internal design.
Wood dust, paper and pulp exhaust, food-processing particulate, coarse mineral dust, grinding operations, material handling, and general industrial dust collection.
Packed-Bed Wet Scrubber
High-efficiency gas absorption, acid-gas removal, alkaline-gas removal, and corrosive fume control.
HCl, SO₂, chlorine, HF, ammonia, corrosive fumes, chemical-process exhaust, and gas streams requiring close gas-liquid contact.
Spray Tower or Quench Scrubber
Hot gas cooling, quenching, preliminary scrubbing, and applications where an open design is preferred.
High-temperature process exhaust, saturated gas streams, sticky gas streams, gas cooling before downstream equipment, and preliminary particulate or gas removal.
Which Wet Scrubber Is Best for Your Application?
Application Requirement
Recommended Ducon Solution
High dust load or coarse particulate
Multivane Centrifugal Wet Scrubber
Abrasive dust or severe service
UW-4 Dynamic Wet Scrubber
General particulate and fume control
UW-3 Dynamic Wet Scrubber
Fine particulate removal
Dynamic or venturi-type wet scrubber, depending on efficiency and pressure drop
High-efficiency acid-gas removal
Packed-Bed Wet Scrubber
Hot-gas cooling or quenching
Spray Tower or Quench Scrubber
Sticky or fouling particulate
Open-design scrubber or multivane-type scrubber
Particulate plus acid-gas control
Multi-stage system with particulate scrubber and packed-bed absorber
VOC or odor control
Case-by-case evaluation based on solubility, chemistry, and required performance
Key Design Considerations
Materials of Construction
Typical Wet Scrubber System Components
Why Choose Ducon Wet Scrubbers?
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a wet scrubber and a dry dust collector?
Can one wet scrubber remove both particulate and acid gas?
Which scrubber is best for acid-gas removal?
Which scrubber is best for high dust loading?
Can wet scrubbers handle hot gas streams?
Can wet scrubbers remove VOCs and odors?
Why is a mist eliminator important in a wet scrubber?
What information is needed to size a wet scrubber?
Contact Ducon for a Wet Scrubber Evaluation
