Review: DECHEMA Annual Meeting 2024 of the Gas Cleaning (GAS) and Waste Treatment and Recycling (AuW) Divisions

From March 25-26, 2024, the DECHEMA Annual Meeting of the Gas Cleaning (GAS) and Waste Treatment and Recycling (AuW) sections took place at the Dorint Hotel in Dresden. After the opening in the plenary session by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Michael Beckmann (TU Dresden) and Dr.-Ing. Steffen Heidenreich (Pall GmbH, Crailsheim), two keynotes followed to set the mood for the next two days. Michael Pilz (BASF SE, Ludwigshafen) spoke on the topic of "The new WGC-BREF: Tightening of emission limits for the chemical industry - consequences and opportunities using the example of dust separation at BASF SE", while Prof. Dr.-Ing. Rudi Karpf (ete.a Ingenieurgesellschaft für Energie- und Umweltengineering & Beratung mbH, Lich) addressed the topic of "Dust separation behind a liquor boiler in pulp production".

Other contributions to the plenary session dealt with flue gas cleaning in the Currenta hazardous waste incineration plant (Dr.-Ing. Daniel Schmitz, Currenta GmbH & Co. OHG, Leverkusen), the use of fly ash scrubbing (Kristina Schmitz, Indaver Deutschland GmbH, Hamburg) and the technology selection for the provision of_CO2 from waste gases from thermal waste treatment plants (Björn Wölk, Institute for Environment & Energy, Technology & Analytics (IUTA) e.V., Duisburg). The contributions were very interesting for both specialist groups, which was evident in the concluding discussion rounds.

After lunch, the event continued in the respective specialist groups. Representatives from Energy Process Engineering at TU Dresden were also on hand to present their research. After Dipl.-Ing. Antje David had already given her presentation on "Comparative consideration of available methods for determining fossil CO2 emissions from waste incineration" in the plenary session, her colleagues had their say in the specialist groups.

Dr.-Ing. Daniel Bernhardt and Dipl.-Ing. Lena Hensch presented their work on "Mathematical model for the determination of nitrous oxide (_N2O) and nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions during thermal sewage sludge treatment in fluidized bed furnaces" as part of the Waste Treatment and Resource Recovery specialist group. Luis Wunder, M.Eng., presented the project "Development of a demonstration plant for the production of an H2-rich synthesis gas from pyrolysis gas using catalyst oxygen carrier materials" in the gas purification specialist group.

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The advisory board meetings of the two expert groups concluded the first day of the event, followed by an evening event for a cozy get-together and an exchange of experiences.

The second day of the DECHEMA specialist group meeting also saw a remarkably high level of participation, which was mainly due to the high standard of the specialist presentations. The AuW specialist group focused on the topics of "Thermal waste treatment" and "Electrochemical processes", while the GAS specialist group dealt with "Filtration" and various other aspects of gas purification.

Overall, the DECHEMA Annual Meeting 2024 of the Gas Cleaning (GAS) and Waste Treatment and Resource Recovery (WTR) sections was a great success. We hope that the participants will remember the contributions as informative and exciting and return to their companies and universities with newly acquired specialist knowledge, where they can continue to build on it.

We would like to thank all initiators, advisors and participants of the DECHEMA Annual Meeting of the GAS and AuW sections as well as the organizers Juliane Jentschke, M.A., and Carolin Fiebelkorn.