Regenerative Thermal Oxidizers
Ceramic heat recovery media that improves thermal efficiency, lowers pressure drop, and extends media life in RTOs.
RTOs destroy VOCs and odorous compounds through high-temperature oxidation while recovering heat to minimize fuel consumption. The heat recovery media is the critical performance variable: it determines oxidizer sizing, pressure drop across the bed, thermal efficiency, and maintenance requirements under fouling conditions. Cheap or poorly-matched media limits throughput, increases energy costs, and forces premature shutdowns for cleaning or replacement.
Lantec has developed structured ceramic heat recovery media that improve on conventional saddles in every relevant dimension — higher heat capacity per cubic foot, lower pressure drop, and substantially better resistance to plugging from particulate-laden air streams. Lantec provides free design assistance and technical support, and backs product performance with a guarantee.
Heat Recovery Media for Regenerative Thermal Oxidizers
MLM® Multi-Layer Media
MLM is the most-installed structured ceramic for RTO heat recovery worldwide. Its patented layered construction delivers dramatically higher heat capacity per cubic foot than conventional saddles while maintaining lower pressure drop — the result of a geometry that limits thermal gradient per layer rather than running monolith full-depth. Bed depths reduce by 50% or more. In retrofit installations, the freed-up volume supports capacity increases that would otherwise require a second RTO.
Available in four cell densities (MLM-125 through MLM-200) to match different heat capacity and pressure drop targets.
Segmented Honeycomb
For installations where monolith is specified or preferred, Lantec's Segmented Honeycomb provides improved performance over conventional monolith. The segmented construction addresses the thermal cycling failure mode inherent in full-depth monolith while maintaining the uniform channel geometry engineers expect from structured media.
Honeycomb Monolith
Traditional honeycomb monolith for RTOs where the conventional geometry is specified or preferred. Available in standard cell densities from Lantec with the same engineering support and performance guarantee as Lantec's structured media.
Ceramic Saddles
Lantec ceramic saddles provide a conventional random-packing option for RTOs where design flexibility or mixed-media configurations are required. Higher pressure drop than structured media but lower upfront cost; often used in combination with MLM in retrofits or as the baseline for comparison.
Case Histories
PCC QS45 two-canister RTO with Lantec SHC® heat recovery media confirms 93.1% TER at 33,000 scfm — well in line with design predictions
Privatized biosolids drying facility upgrades VOC control RTO; energy and maintenance savings documented
Municipal RTO saddle fouling problems disappear after MLM retrofit; 18-hour overtime shutdowns eliminated
Hatfield, PA replaces 8 ft of ceramic saddles with 4 ft of MLM; pressure drop drops from 8–9 in. to 1.5–2.5 in. WC per canister
MLM succeeds where random heat recovery media failed; facility achieves sustained autothermal operation
Label printing plant replaces 8′6″ saddle bed with 3′8″ of MLM-200; thermal efficiency improves to 94.6%
Trade journal case article documenting MLM retrofit results across multiple biosolids RTO installations
Hundreds of thousands of dollars in annual fuel cost eliminated through improved RTO and scrubber performance
Performance comparison of MLM structured media against saddles and random ceramic for RTO heat recovery applications