Surface coating and drying operations typically exhaust large air volumes containing low concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOC) with potential adverse environmental impacts. Operating on the principle of catalytic incineration, the SUNKISS Thermoreactor produces infra-red heat for paint drying and curing. Reported benefits include reduced drying time, improved surface coating finish, smaller exhaust air/solvent volumes. and greater energy and economic efficiency. In addition. the SUNKISS Thermoreactor has been reported to reduce VOC emissions due to oxidation of the solvent vapors. This claim was investigated under laboratory conditions at the University of Central Florida (UCF). Primary system components developed as a part of this study included the VOC-in-air flow system, a completely mixed test chamber, and a sampling train which resulted in the generation of data exhibiting a high degree of precision. Design and calibration studies necessary to maintain that accuracy and precision constituted major components of the work performed. Our study showed that an 18 to 48 percent reduction in VOC emissions may be expected from the SUNKISS Thermoreactor. VOC destruction was found to be a function of detention time within the test chamber and not inlet concentrations. Very little difference was observed during experimental runs involving both Hexane and Methyl Ethyl Ketone. Relationships among destruction efficiency, air flow rate, the generation of carbon monoxide and incomplete combustion of the a uxiliary fuel supply were also determined.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ucf.edu/oai:stars.library.ucf.edu:rtd-5050 |
| Date | 01 January 1990 |
| Creators | Nangle, Jeffrey A. |
| Publisher | University of Central Florida |
| Source Sets | University of Central Florida |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Source | Retrospective Theses and Dissertations |
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