Scrubber facts for kids
Scrubbers are special systems that help clean the air coming out of big factories. These factories often burn coal to make electricity. Think of scrubbers like giant air filters! They remove harmful stuff, like sulfur, from the smoke before it goes into the sky. This makes the air much cleaner and healthier for everyone.
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What Are Scrubbers?
Scrubbers are important tools used in places like power plants. These plants often burn coal, which can release dirty gases into the air. Scrubbers are designed to catch these pollutants. They help make sure that the air we breathe stays clean.
How Do Scrubbers Work?
Imagine a big machine that washes the air. As dirty air from a power plant's chimney goes through a scrubber, special liquids or filters grab the harmful particles. It's a bit like how a coffee filter catches coffee grounds. The dirty stuff, like sulfur and tiny metal bits, gets trapped inside the scrubber.
Types of Scrubbers
There are two main types of scrubbers:
- Wet scrubbers: These use liquid chemicals to clean the air. The dirty air passes through a spray of these chemicals. The chemicals react with the pollution, causing it to fall out of the air.
- Dry scrubbers: These often use fabric filters, like a giant vacuum cleaner bag. The dirty air passes through these filters, which trap the harmful particles.
Sometimes, factories use both wet and dry scrubbers together for an even better clean!
What Do Scrubbers Remove?
Modern scrubbers are very good at their job. They can remove up to 98% of the sulfur from the smoke. They can also remove almost all (99%) of the tiny particles that cause pollution. These particles are often made of metals or ash.
Why Are Scrubbers Important?
Scrubbers play a huge role in protecting our environment. When sulfur and other pollutants are released into the air, they can cause problems like acid rain and breathing issues. By removing these harmful substances, scrubbers help keep our air clean.
Useful Byproducts
The stuff removed by scrubbers isn't always waste. The sulfur and metals can sometimes be sold and used again. For example:
- Sludge from certain scrubbers can be used to make wallboard, which is used in building houses.
- Fly ash, which is a fine powder from the chimneys, can be used to make lightweight concrete. This concrete can even be used instead of wood in some cases.
Real-World Impact
Scrubbers have made a big difference. For example, in the United States, the use of coal doubled in the last 25 years of the 1900s. But during that same time, the amount of sulfur in the air actually went down by 30%! This shows just how well scrubbers work to clean up our air, even when we use more fuel that can cause pollution.
Images for kids
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A scrubber during installation at the ship TIMBUS (IMO number: 9198680)
See also
In Spanish: Depurador (industrial) para niños
