VOC reduction also for existing plants
Making paint shops fit for the challenge
The emission limits for volatile organic compounds were tightened throughout the EU at the end of last year. This has consequences above all for existing paint shops. Dürr is working with operators to develop action plans for VOC reduction.
Wherever paint is applied and solvents are introduced into a process, pollutants are produced. That's why the new emission reduction limits apply to all industries that paint and coat. A four-year transition period began last December, which may be shortened depending on how long it takes to transpose the EU requirement into national law. The member states are allowed to move within bandwidths, for example between 8 and 30 grams per square meter for existing equipment in the passenger car sector. Some of these currently achieve emission values of up to 65 grams.
Depending on whether a country tends toward the upper or lower limit, plant operators will have to react more or less strongly.For new plants with state-of-the-art technology, stricter VOC limits are not a problem. The situation is quite different for existing plants, of which an estimated 60 percent worldwide are more than 20 years old. In Europe, the average age is around 22 years.
Read more about it in the March issue of Surface Technology Magazine - or right now with premium access at oberflaeche.de!