The basic premise of the RTO is truly simple; heat is extracted from the hot purified gas and stored in the “re-heat” recovery chamber as it leaves the combustion chamber. After a period of time, the inlet/outlet valves switch position and now the contaminated process gas is redirected through the hot heat sink recovery chamber preheating it to within 5% of the combustion temperature before it enters the combustions chamber. In the combustion chamber the burner supplements the 5% bringing its temperature to 1,500 F° and converting the VOC to CO2 and water vapor.

Cycle Therm, being intimately aware of several facts, and has gone to extremes to maintain reliability by enforcing simplicity. This is done by designing the RTO around four (4) simple proven standard subsections…valving, recovery chamber(s), combustion chamber and burner. The combining of these subsections has behind it 20 years of on line R&D design experience.

By mixing and combining these standard subsections, Cycle-Therm supplies a state of the art, economically viable RTO, reduced to simplicity.

Cycle-Therm sets itself apart from its competitors by its ability to supply “OFF-THE-SHELF”, proven, unitized subsections specifically interfaced and designed for RTOs. Cycle-Therm supplies these pre-designed subsections using suppliers such as Robinson for fans, Maxon for burners, Allen Bradley for PLC logic, Siemans for VFDs, Rose Valve for poppets dampers and machined steel butterfly valves, and Honeywell for flame safeguard. Rose Valve for poppets dampers and machined steel butterflies..

With 3 or more recovery sections, and a purge feature, the RTO will generate a destruction efficiency of 99%+. Most two-chamber RTO manufacturers will guarantee no greater than 98+%.

While all 95% thermal energy recovery (TER) RTOs should theoretically use the same amount of fuel, manufactures, for different reason, will report varying degrees of fuel usage. This is because the net fuel usage of all RTOs is dependent on ambient conditions; shell heat loss, burner combustion air, chamber to chamber flow differences and assumed solvent heating values. In many cases some, or all of these factors may have been eliminated from the fuel usage equations, making their anticipated fuel usage lower than their competitors. In just as many cases the final on line unit never reaches its sold efficiency even with the use of the above correction factors. In too many cases insufficient experience on the part of the manufacturer leads to a mismatch between the types of solvent, it’s flash point and the heat sink. Remember you can’t change the laws of physics for economic purposes.

In the last 20 years, the principals of Cycle-Therm, have placed into worldwide operation over 200 RTO and interface systems. This experience has reaffirmed the indisputable fact, “simplicity generates reliability.”