Reducing Emissions Is a Smart Play
Reducing emissions is in the composites industry’s best interest, and not only because it means cost savings, says Bob Lacovara, president of consultancy Convergent Composites. “The big driver potentially coming down the road will be personnel exposure,” he says.
In a Composites 2010 education session titled The Key to Reducing Emissions and Improving Quality, Lacovara will present an overview of the technology available to reduce emissions and how it can be applied to different processes. The session will help manufacturers make decisions based on what’s required, what’s possible and what’s achievable. “In terms of equipment, we’ll be talking about low emissions equipment, what’s state-of-the-art, what’s current technology, what’s the best available, and the same with processes,” he says. “We’ll talk about the current most environmentally friendly materials we have available. That translates to low styrene materials, styrene alternatives, and additives such as styrene suppressants.”
The discussion about lowering emissions is bound to raise questions about open and closed molding processes. Lacovara is prepared to talk about when each of these processes makes the most sense. “Some of our discussion will move into what’s the potential for converting open molding into close molding. In some cases, there’s a distinct possibility of converting, in others, it’s not cost effective.”
One example is the tub and shower segment, which Lacovara says would be hard pressed to optimize closed molding technologies given its cost of production and volumes. “On the other hand, for a lot of major boat components such as hulls decks, vacuum infusion does become more viable,” he says.
