Saving the planet

Citation

(1999), "Saving the planet", Pigment & Resin Technology, Vol. 28 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/prt.1999.12928dad.018

Saving the planet

Saving the planet

Keywords: Emissions, Environmental impact, CSO Technik

When new legislation was introduced in Sweden to reduce total volatile organic compounds (TVOC), a plastic component manufacturer to Volvo turned to the Ecoseparator.

The problem was that air extracted from the paint spraying area at a rate of 10,000m3/hr was fed into a fluidised sand bed to remove VOCs. The discharge was 28ppm of TVOC. New legislation required that the TVOC level emissions be reduced to 20ppm.

Owing to the high running costs it was decided to mothball the existing fluidised bed and install a new Ecoseparator. The first stage of the Ecoseparator is a filtration stage to remove excess particulant: The flow then enters the three-stage oxidation chamber where it is mixed with ionised air. The final stage is further filtration to remove remaining particulants that amalgamated during ionisation process. Taking filtered fresh air and passing it over coronar discharge tubes at a given velocity forms the ionised air. The ionised air is fed into the oxidation chamber via a series of injection ports. The control centre for the system is located in a spare compartment within the Ecoseparator. The existing extract ductwork was intercepted at roof level to minimise disruption to production and the ducts were connected to the roof mounted Ecoseparator. Once treated the flow was discharged directly from the end of the unit, as no stack was required.

Technik reports that not only did the Ecoseparator fully meet the design objectives and beat target emission standards by 20 per cent, but also the client will receive payback within one year.

With new legislation due to be introduced into Europe manufacturers will have to look at alternative systems to meet the reduced TVOC level emissions.

CSO Technik's managing director Colin Froud was clearly pleased to be offering such a product, "The low capital and running cost of the ECO Separator in comparison to other systems will enable manufacturers to meet the new emission standards without breaking the bank".

Details from CSO Technik Ltd. Tel: +44 (0)1732 867892; Fax: +44 (0)1732 867851.