Reducing Emissions Improves Safety, Quality

In the composites industry, getting greener is becoming a golden concept—and it’s ever-present in education sessions at COMPOSITES 2010.

Bob Lacovara, president of consultancy Convergent Composites, led a presentation about ways composites firms can reduce emissions and thereby improve the quality and safety of their facilities. He presented an overview of technology available to make that happen, and how it can be applied to different processes. “Environmentally friendly materials translate to low styrene materials, styrene alternatives and additives such as styrene suppressants,” he said.

The emissions from fiber reinforced plastics processors can be major sources of volatile emissions, including styrene, the volatile component of polyester resin and gelcoat; and acetone, a solvent used to clean tools and other surfaces contaminated with resin.

Some discussion during the presentation was about the potential for converting open molding into close molding, which sometimes is a possibility and other times isn’t cost effective because of production cost and volume, Lacovara said.

The benefits of reducing volatile emission are numerous:

• Fewer emissions implies better raw materials use, improving the bottom line
• Less concern about Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations related to worker exposure to chemicals, especially styrene
• Less concern about regulation of air pollutants as a result of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA), and the Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT) standards
• Reduced disposal cost of spent solvents as hazardous waste
• Reduced risk of fires caused by high concentrations of chemicals in the workplace

Lacovara said no single option is likely to replace the plant-wide use of solvent or completely eliminate the source of volatile emissions, so it’s best for composites companies to examine alternatives that combine several options.

When considering a substitute, firms should keep in mind the following:

• Do the new materials pose a worker health or safety risk?
• How much employee training will be required for successfully implementing a substitute?
• What experience have others in the industry had with the alternative technology?
• What regulations need to be considered?
• What will the effect be on product quality and production levels?
• Will a new waste stream be created? If so, how will it be handled?

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 11th, 2010 at 3:27 pm and is filed under Manufacturing and Processes, Materials, Reducing Emissions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.