Canadian Finishing & Coatings Manufacturing Magazine May/June 2022 - 35

PAINT AND COATINGS MANUFACTURING: FUME CONTROL
MAINTAINING A
SAFE
PLANT
C
ontrolling emissions to the outside from a plating
operation is a relatively straightforward process.
Maintaining control inside the plant, however, can be
a much more complex task.
Plant air, obviously, is not dispersed to the same degree exterior
air is, so that pockets of emissions can build up. And since plant
workers are always relatively close to the plating or anodizing
equipment, the chance of casual exposure, or of minor exposures
but over an extended period, cannot be ruled out.
There is, naturally, a hierarchy of substances to be monitored,
based on the relative toxicity of each. While hexavalent chromium
is steadily being replaced by trivalent chromium, there are still
applications that only work with the former, so that is one area to
be monitored.
Then, there are various substances under the fluorine-based
compounds category that must be watched. Once a good system or
set of systems is in place, all these can be monitored and removed
with a reliable degree of safety. The solution, obviously, is to
design something for any given plant that can control both the
questionable substances, and the quantities that will be produced.
One area where there has been considerable innovation
is chemistries that minimize corrosive fumes, notably from
tanks using sulphuric or hydrochloric acid. Dynamix offers its
Dynatreat Cr-R compound for chromium-using operations. This
reduces the hexavalent chrome to its trivalent state in alkaline or
acid solutions, and can be added to alkaline cleaners to eliminate
the effects of hexavalent chrome contamination.
Dynaprep FCA is a concentrated liquid mixture, which is added
to hydrochloric or sulphuric acid pickling solutions to reduce the
acid fumes without the need for a foam blanket. It also prolongs
the useful life of the acids. The product is amine-free, and the
company says it has no adverse effects on subsequent plating
processes.
Another Dynamix product for use with chromium applications
is Dynaplate Cr FSN2. This is free of PFOS, PFAS and other
fluoride-baed fume suppressants. The company says it offers a
noticeable reduction in mist accompanied with ideal low foaming
ability in hard chrome plating operations. Used in hexavalent
chrome plating, it can reduce environmental emissions, exposure
and contamination without sacrificing plating efficiency.
On the hardware side, Anguil Environmental Systems offers
a full range of equipment for emissions reduction or elimination.
This includes dealing with VOCs, HAPs and NOx. It produces gas
trains to meet any international certifications, and performs preassembly
and factory testing to reduce installation costs.
The company's oxidizers are fully automated with PLC-based
controls. These offer not just digital data recording, but remote
telemetry and multiple safety shutdowns to guarantee safe
operation. Complete turnkey packages include all utilities and
ductwork.
JPS Technologies represents Germany's Sensotech range of
gas scrubbers.
" Gas scrubbers are used worldwide for the conversion of gases
used in industry, " JPS says of its product line; " either to eliminate
the risk to people and the environment in an emergency (which is
where emergency gas scrubbers are required) or to clean process
gases from unwanted gas components for further processing.
In this process, the gases to be cleaned are converted into nonhazardous
components using a scrubbing liquid such as caustic
soda, so that they no longer pose a risk to the environment or to
the process. This usually results in water and salts, which are easy
to handle for further processing.
ULT Canada Sales represents another fume scrubber line, from
ULT in Loebau, Germany. The company's ACD product range
coves the gamut of medium-sized of extraction systems.
ACD 1200 A 28 system, one of the largest units ULT offers, is a
mobile extraction system on casters. It features an exchangeable
filter system with extraction and filtration modules, and has the
control elements on the front panel.
There is volume flow control, and step-less adjustment of
suction capacity. There is a loaded particle filter indicator: optical
visualization, and a powder-coated, rugged steel housing.
Options include a prefilter as well as an adsorption filter. Users
can also specify an operation hours counter and a digital device
control.
Controlling fume emissions in plants is a legal requirement, but
it is also a practical one. Expecting employees to perform well in a
place with minimal equipment to clear such emissions inevitably
has an effect on employee commitment, as well as inviting
unpleasant visits from health inspectors.
With the variety of protective systems now available, the cost
of maintaining a safe workspace is less than it was a few years ago.
And the reliability of these systems has also improved to the point
that maintenance is far less complicated.
One area where there has been
considerable innovation is chemistries
that minimize corrosive fumes,
notably from tanks using sulphuric
or hydrochloric acid. Dynamix offers
its Dynatreat Cr-R compound for
chromium-using operations.
May/June 2022
35
Canadian Finishing & Coatings Manufacturing Magazine May/June 2022

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