Preserving Our Air

Reducing smelter SO₂ emissions by 85 percent, metals particulate by 40 percent and greenhouse gases by 40 percent from previous levels, Vale’s Clean AER (Atmospheric Emissions Reduction) Project is preserving clean air in Sudbury, Ontario with the help of the converter wet gas cleaning plant (CV WGCP) designed by our Chemetics team. Commenced in 2012 with a total project budget of $1 billion CAD, the Clean AER project set out to achieve Vale’s goal of preserving local air quality, creating change and reducing impact on the environment.

Located at Vale’s Copper Cliff Smelter site near Sudbury, the CV WGCP was a key component of this project. Taking metal particulates laden off-gases from the smelter, the CV WGCP facility uses custom designed quench and scrubber towers to remove large particulates out of the gas stream. Final cleaning of the gas is completed using electrostatic precipitation, a process that removes suspended dust particles from a gas or exhaust by applying a high-voltage electrostatic charge and collecting the particles on charged plates. Once the SO₂ rich gas is cooled and cleaned, it can be processed in the acid plant to produce sulfuric acid for future use.

Chemetics’ scope of work for the project included process, civil, structural, mechanical, piping/ducting, instrument and electrical design.  Design work, along with procurement and logistics support, was completed from our Chemetics team at the Vancouver, British Columbia office, with various proprietary gas cleaning equipment supplied by our fabrication shop team in Pickering, Ontario.  Site construction, checkout and commissioning support was also provided to ensure successful start-up and preserve clean air for generations to come!