ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Thermal oxidizer

Imagine you are trying to clean your room and you have a garbage bag with all your trash and dirty things that you don't need anymore. You can't keep the bag in your room because it will start to smell bad and you will get sick. So, you take the bag outside and put it in a big furnace that will burn everything inside the bag. This furnace is called a thermal oxidizer.

In industries and factories, they produce a lot of harmful gases and chemicals that are bad for the environment and can cause air pollution. They can't release these gases directly into the air because it can harm people and the environment. So, they use thermal oxidizers to burn these harmful gases and chemicals and turn them into harmless gases, like water vapor and carbon dioxide.

The thermal oxidizer works like a big oven. The harmful gases are sent to the oxidizer through pipes. The gases are then heated up to a very high temperature, usually around 1500 degrees Fahrenheit. This temperature helps to break down the harmful gases and chemicals into their basic elements. The heat is provided by a burner that is fueled by natural gas or propane.

As the gases pass through the oxidizer, the heat energy makes the molecules vibrate and break apart. This causes the harmful chemicals to react with oxygen, which produces heat and releases harmless gases. The harmless gases are then released back into the air.

The thermal oxidizer also has filters that capture any particles or ash that are leftover after the gases are burned. These filters help to keep the environment clean and prevent any harmful particles from being released.

In summary, a thermal oxidizer is like a big furnace that burns harmful gases and chemicals produced by industries and factories. It turns these gases into harmless gases and prevents them from causing air pollution.