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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Engineering approach to emission reduction in automotive spray painting

Conference ·
OSTI ID:7267655

Unacceptable costs and energy usage are incurred by the use of any known add-on of equipment in paint spray booths and ovens to treat the large volumes of air currently discharged containing low levels of solvent. A solvent emission profile exists along the length of typical spray booths and ovens. Selective collection of exhaust from solvent-rich zones and discard of exhaust from solvent-lean zones could reduce air volumes requiring abatement. By maximizing use of automatic painting, reducing booth length, avoiding longitudinal intermixing between manual and automatic painting zones, and staging of solvent-laden air exhausted from manual zones through automatic zones, only 10 percent of the currently discharged air needs to be treated to meet the 3000 pounds per day limitation per source. For such reduced volumes, the investment for emission reduction is more acceptable. Moreover, the hot gases emitted after abatement, such as in an incineration system equipped for heat exchange, can be used as an energy source. The reduction in fuel for booth air heating resulting from reduced booth air usage, coupled with heat from solvent combustion, should provide nearly a 35 percent reduction in fuel energy requirements for the automotive color area.

OSTI ID:
7267655
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English