Butler-Justice Inc.’s Blue Smoke Control System

Blue Smoke Control, a division of Butler-Justice Inc., Anaheim, California, offers two systems that, between them, are designed to eliminate emissions issues at the plant. According to Mike Butler, president of Butler-Justice, “The addition of RAP, rubberized asphalt and polymer blends into asphalt mix designs has led to higher emissions due to higher mix temperatures.” His company now provides environmental control devices that can be installed at the asphalt plant to remove up to 99.9 percent of blue smoke, as well as the odors associated with asphalt production. Here’s how:

The Blue Smoke Control system captures blue smoke from emission points in the asphalt production process.

Because blue smoke is essentially vaporized oil at high temperatures, Blue Smoke Control’s ducting system bleeds ambient (outside) air at key points. Seven stages of filters help to coalesce the tiny oil vapor droplets and aerosols into larger droplets that can be filtered out by the blue smoke collector. The oil droplets drain from the filters via gravity to a collecting sump.

In some cases, the system can pull as much as five gallons of oil per day from conveyor transfer points, silo-filling spots, and truck load-out areas. Not only is the final high-efficiency filter 95 percent efficient at capturing particles as small as 0.3 microns (creating a filter that is equivalent to HEPA quality), the complete system is 99.9 percent efficient overall, according to the manufacturer.

In addition, the company offers its X-VOCS system, which features proprietary carbon absorption technology designed to filter and remove up to 99 percent of odors and VOCs, such as Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S), from the hot asphalt storage tanks. The X-VOCS incorporates a five-stage filtration system. In the first three stages, a series of filters remove more than 95 percent of targeted particulates down to 0.3 microns. In the final two stages, carbon filtration beds remove remaining odors and volatiles.

When the X-VOCS technology is coupled with the Blue Smoke Control system, emissions from HMA plants can be reduced to nearly zero, providing owners with the means to achieve the highest level of environmental stewardship. Implementation of this technology has been proven to virtually end calls from nearby neighbors regarding odor and visual emissions. Both the Blue Smoke Control and X-VOCS systems can be incorporated into new plant designs, and they are also easily retrofitted into existing plant operations, with minimal modifications to the plant.

For more information on the X-VOCS system, visit the Blue Smoke Controls website.