Dear Sir,

Please advise How to dipose the exhaust Ethylene Oxide gas from sterilizer. I've heard that we can use EO Abator/Disposer. Does anyone know who is the maker?

Thank you in advance.
Chaiwat.

Dear Chaiwat!

Abators (which employ catalytic technology) are definitely a preferred solution for exhausted EtO.
It is advisable to get in contact with your local authorities (environment, workers safety, ...) to check if there are any specific regulations concerning this topic.
I have send you an Email for details on supplier of such technology.

Mit freundlichen Grüßen / Kind Regards

Klaus Hahnen
3M Laboratories (Europe)

Dear,

Besides abators you have also scrubbers to eliminate ethylene oxide. In our hospital we use a "scrubber" to absorb ethylene oxide from the vent flow of our sterilizers. It is an effective and cheap method that doesn't need a lot of maintenance. For more information, please consult the webpage:
www.betescrubbers.com/products/ethylene-oxide-propylene-oxide.html

Kind regards,
Wim Renders

Further to the reaction of Wim Renders I can inform that Bete Scrubbers sells 3 systems for ethylene oxide abatement:

1. Ethylene Oxide Incinerators
2. Ethylene Oxide Scrubbers
3. Ethylene Oxide Catalytic Oxidisers (catalytic abators)

Incinerators burn (thermal oxidation) ethylene oxide to H₂O and CO₂. They consume a lot of energy, resulting in a high running cost and they are almost not used in combination with hospital ethylene oxide sterilisers.

Ethylene Oxide Scrubbers absorb ethylene oxide and transform it chemically to ethylene glycol (antifreeze). Scrubbers have relatively low investment and running cost. Often scrubbers are used when different ethylene oxide sterilisers can be connected to one ethylene oxide abatement system. Disadvantages of a scrubber system are that they have large dimensions and often can not be installed in the direct vicinity of the sterilisers. In addition they make a glycol solution that has to be disposed and treated as a waste.

Catalytic Abators oxidise ethylene oxide to water and carbon dioxide at relatively low temperatures. While in the past temperatures of min. 250 °C were necessary, development of new catalysts in Europe decreased this temperature to below 150 °C, resulting in a much lower energy consumption. Abators of this new generation are already in use in Belgian hospitals and give extremely good results. The catalytic abators are very compact and are normally installed direct near the steriliser, giving very short lines between the steriliser and the abator. They are very easy to operate and guarantee an ethylene oxide concentration at the outlet below 1 ppm. In my opinion these catalytic abators of the new generation are the best available technique today to dispose the exhaust ethylene oxide gas coming from hospital ethylene oxide sterilisers.

For more information, please consult our webpage www.betescrubbers.com or contact us at

Kind regards,
Hedwig Beke

Bete Scrubbers
Waversebaan 232
3050 Oud-Heverlee
Belgium
Mobile: +32.(0) 475.83.67.29
Fax/Tel: +32.(0) 16.47.01.24
www.BeteScrubbers.com