Consultants Posts

An oxidizer is not something that business owners address by saying, “Let’s do the right thing for the environment and install an oxidizer!” In fact, the scenario is more likely to be “We need to increase productivity (always a good thing!), but that will put us over our annual emissions limits. Do we know what we will need? Where do we start? Who can help us?”  

Table of contents

• Considerations Before Selecting an Oxidizer for VOC Control
• Scenario 1: Regenerative Thermal Oxidizer
• Scenario 2: Direct Fired Thermal Oxidizer
• Scenario 3: Thermal Recuperative Oxidizer
• Scenario 4: Catalytic Oxidizer

This article was updated in July 2026 to reflect current EPA Method 204 guidance.

Fugitive VOC emissions are the uncontrolled release of gases to the atmosphere — vapors that never make it into a control device at all. A well-built thermal oxidizer, RTO, or catalytic oxidizer routinely destroys 95–99%+ of the VOCs that reach it, but that destruction rate only counts toward your permit if the emissions actually get there. 

Overall control efficiency is:    Overall Control (%) = Capture Efficiency (%) × Destruction Efficiency (%) ÷ 100 

If your capture system is only 70% effective and your oxidizer destroys 98% of what reaches it, your overall compliance number is 68.6% — often not enough to satisfy a permit limit. This is why fugitive emissions are frequently the single largest source of uncontrolled VOCs at a facility, and why regulators require a documented, tested capture strategy before crediting your oxidizer's destruction rate at all. 

At Catalytic Products International, we work with a variety of experts who deal with air pollution control systems at every level. Just as we regularly share our clients’ success stories, we want to look at the work that our team does to meet those clients’ needs.