ALZETA has been a key player in point-of-use abatement systems since the 1990’s with the Edwards packaged burn/wet TPU as well as ALZETA-packaged TPU’s for custom applications.
Point of Use (POU) Abatement differs from End of Pipe (EOP) Abatement systems that ALZETA produces for VOC applications in that POU abatement devices are located more proximate to the waste gas source, and are typically devoted to 1 to 6 smaller users. An EOP abatement system, on the other hand, will be much larger, capable of handling the waste gas of dozens of sources combined into a single vent line.
POU abatement is most beneficial in semiconductor abatement, where the waste gases from the source or tool are changing often and require different conditions to combust. In the case of an Etch application, the process tool may alternate between producing silane and CF4. Silane, being pyrophoric, requires very little assistance to reduce to complete combustion. However, CF4 requires significant fuel addition to form CO2 and HF.
By identifying the gas coming from the process tool, the abatement device can use the correct amount of fuel to achieve the desired destruction efficiency. This would not be true if multiple process tools were mixed into a common vent for an EOP abatement system.
