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Sector Specific Pollution Prevention Details for "Doing Our Share for Clean Air" Business Recognition Program
To qualify for Level Two of Spokane Clean Air's Business Recognition Program, a business must implement clean air practicies in three out of five pollution prevention categories, of which sector specific pollution prevention ideas is a category.
In each business sector (back up generators, boilers, dry cleaners, gasoline stations, printers, surface coaters) there are a variety emission reducing opportunities. When air emissions are reduced or eliminated, businesses can save money. Scroll down to the category that represents your specific business sector to learn more about going beyond compliance.
Back-up Generators – Although back-up generators are not used often, there is a way to achieve additional air emission reductions.
1. Use a bio-diesel blend as fuel, for example, 80% ultra low sulfur diesel + 20% bio-diesel.
Boilers – Keeping the boiler or kiln functioning at peak efficiency reduces air emissions and the amount of fuel used for your processes.
1. Inspect boilers for scale deposits, accumulation of sediment on waterside surfaces. Remove deposits and sediment.
2. Pre-heat feed water with flue gas heat exchanger.
3. Inspect stacks to ensure visible emissions are below opacity limits. If not, it probably indicates that a burning adjustment is necessary.
4. Check boiler stack temperature. If it’s too high (more than 150 degrees F above steam or water temperature), clean tubes and adjust fuel burning.
5. Clean mineral/corrosion build-up on gas burners.
6. Check that burners are clean and operating at an optimum air-to-fuel ratio.
Dry Cleaners – To reduce toxic air emissions, dry cleaners are encouraged to research and implement material subsitution.
Material substitution spot cleaners.
Utilize water-based or less hazxardous pre-spotters to perc or TCE free spotting agent. The
Institute for Research and Technical Assistance performed field tests on spotting agents
and found two safer alternatives. These alternatives generally sell for $10-$20 less per gallon than traditional spotting agents.
1. Cold Plus
2. Nature's Choice
Material subsitution for solvent.
Change from using Perc to a less hazardous solvent.
1. Hydrocarbon (DF2000, EcoSolve)
2. Cyclic siloxanes (Green Earth)
3. Glycol eithers (Rynex, Solvair)
4. Liquid carbon dioxide (Micell)
5. Green Jet
Utilize new technologies:
1. Wet Cleaning is desirable because it uses only water, detergents, sizing and softeners, and does not produce hazardous waste (although some stain removal chemicals may be hazardous.) The International Fabricare Institute (IFI) stated that most garment care establishments using their existing equipment and procedures can wet clean from 30-40 percent of all customers’ garments with minimal difficulty. IFI also stated that 60-80 percent of all customers’ garments can be wet cleaned using specialized equipment and detergents, and trained labor. However, wet cleaning may not be a complete replacement technology.
2. Ultrasonic Cleaning is being researached and developed as a possible alternative to traditional PERC dry cleaning. Ultrasonic cleaning works by using the pressure of sound waves directed at a garment through a soap oand water solution. The pressure removes the stains from the garments. Ultrasonic cleaning is also desirable because it produces no hazardous wastes or air emissions.
3. Carbon Dioxide Cleaning – both supercritical and liquid carbon dioxide are being explored as methods for garment cleaning. Carbon dioxide technologies are non toxic, easily recycled, inexpensive, non-flammable, non-corrosive and readily available. Liquid carbon dioxide is more favorable as it is safer than supercritical carbon dioxide.
4. Icy Water is similar to wet cleaning, except garments are washed in cold water and dried with cold air.
5. Green Jet - srpay water and detergent rather than immersion.
Gasoline Refueling Facilities – Gas stations account for 40% of stationary sources Volatile Organic Compound (VOCs). VOCs are a precursor to ground-level ozone. Any effort to reduce VOC emissions will improve air quality.
1. Install Stage II Vapor Recovery System at the gas station. Stage II systems capture the vapors that are displaced when filling an automobile's tank with gasoline. The vapors are returned back to the underground tanks. When the storage tanks are filled up, the delivery truck captures the vapors.
2. Install a vent cap on the underground storage tank (UST) vents. It costs around $100 for the part and labor. Without the vent cap, gasoline vapors are escaping USTs, losing 10 gallons (or more) a year per tank in vapor release. The biggest vapor loss comes when refilling UST. Vent caps also help prevent moisture (from precipitation) from getting into the tank and contaminating the fuel.
Printers – Lithographic and Screen Printers use a variety of products that result in air pollution emissions. Your print shop can become both environmentally friendly and cost efficient by establishing an effective environmental management protocol. In addition to reducing emissions to the air, you can reduce waste management costs, improve worker safety, and increase productivity.
Press Washes
1. Use the lowest VOC press wash that works for you. Work with your vendor to find one with low VOC content by weight and one that has a lower vapor pressure and higher flash point.
2. Use press washes that don’t contain chemicals that are reclassified hazardous waste when disposed.
3. Utilize protocols that conserve press wash, such as dedicating a press to just one color on specific days. Since colors are not changed between press runs, the number of press cleanings is reduced. This saves time, press wash used and ink.
4. Consider an automatic cleaning system. By removing excess ink and preventing ink build-up, your can reduce cleanup solvent consumption.
5. Do not saturate show towels with too much press wash. Use the minimum amount needed to do the job. Excessive use increases the amount of wash that needs to be bought and results in increased air pollution
Aerosol Cans
1. Do not buy aerosols containing compounds that are highly flammable, persistent or toxic. Work with your vendor to find alternatives.
2. Dispose of non-empty cans containing hazardous substances as hazardous wastes. Never throw non-empty cans into the garbage.
3. Return defective cans to your supplier.
4. Determine if you actually need these products.
5. Switch to non-aerosol products if possible, such as manual pump cans or bottles, especially if they can be refilled.
Shop Towels
1. Use cloth towels which can be cleaned and reused.
2. When possible, use less hazardous cleaning solvents (ones without chlorinated compounds.)
Fountain Solutions
1. Consider changing to an alcohol-free fountain solution. Look for alcohol substitutes that are not hazardous waste when disposed. Ask your vendor for suggestions.
2. Consider using a recirculating chiller unit that keeps fountain solution clean and reduces evaporation. If you continue to use alcohol in your fountain solution, try to reduce the amount that you use.
Emulsion and Ink Remover
1. Ask your vendor about low VOC ink and emulsion removers. Use the lowest VOC products that will work for you.
2. Remove extra ink from screens with a scraper or spatula before using ink remover. Return excess in to containers.
3. Use a separate solvent cleaning station. Collect any leftover solvent for reuse, recycling or disposal.
4. Use a solvent pump can instead of pouring solvent from a jug. This will minimize your use of solvent and emissions to the air.
Surface Coaters – There are multiple ways to successfully implement pollution prevention in surface coating operations.
Coating Operation - Process Changes
1. Put small parts together on a rack (as opposed to individual prior to coating) to increase the transfer efficiency when the coating is applied.
2. Use hot spray method. Heat decreases the viscosity of the coating, producing similar results to adding a solvent thinner, thus reducing the need for thinners.
3. Use two-component systems to allow the mixing of the paint and catalyst at the gun tip, eliminating the need for pre-mixing excess quantities to ensure adequate supply. Also reduces frequency of equipment cleaning and waste.
4. Minimize the number of color changes. Schedule painting such that the painting system does not have to be flushed with solvent to accommodate multiple color changes. This will reduce the total amount of solvent used for cleaning.
5. Paint light colors before dark colors. Less cleaning is necessary when switching for light to dark colors.
6. Use leftover paints as an undercoat or primer. The quality of the undercoat or primer is not as important as the finish coat.
Surface Preparation - Process Changes
1. Change from solvent-based cleaners to water, semi-water, citrus, or biological solvents- based cleaners. Eliminating or minimizing the use of solvents will help you meet federal and state regulations, cut hazardous waste disposal, reduce liability/insurance, and cut costs.
2. Change from solvent-based cleaning to cleaning processes such as supercritical carbon dioxide or vacuum deoiling. Eliminating or minimizing the use of solvents will help you cut costs.
3. If you must use solvents, then optimize the current preparation process to minimize evaporation. There are many options, such as consolidate multiple steps into one step, reduce contamination of parts prior to cleaning, extend solvent “changeout” schedule with vendor, located cleaning tanks away from heat sources, use less toxic solvent, keep tanks closed and well sealed, when practical layer with water or wax to reduce evaporation, drain cleaned parts to return solvent to tank, turn off exhaust when not in use.
Cleaning Operation - Process Changes
1. Designate a gun for paint and a gun for primer. Use virgin solvent to clean the paint gun, then use the waste virgin solvent from the paint gun to clean the primer gun. This will reduce the total amount of solvent used for cleaning.
2. Recycle or distill waste solvent. Collect waste solvent and use it for operations where virgin solvent is not necessary or run it through a still to recover more usable solvent to reduce the total amount of solvent used for cleaning.
3. Clean equipment immediately. Cleaning the spray equipment immediately reduces the problem of waste paint build-up and hardening in the lines and guns. This will reduce the total amount of solvent used for cleaning.
4. Clean equipment first with dirty solvent before final cleaning with virgin solvent. For initial cleaning, the quality of the solvent does not need to be as high. Then, for the problem spots, use a higher quality virgin solvent. This will reduce the total amount of solvent used for cleaning.
5. Use gun cleaning equipment that uses pressurized pulses of solvent and compressed air. This new technology will reduce the total amount of solvent needed for cleaning.
Coating Alternatives
1. Work with your vendor(s) to supply cleaner alternatives, such as alternative coatings, less volatile gun gleaning solvent/paint thinner.
2. Paint alternatives to solvent-based coatings include: high-solids coatings, water-borne coatings, power coatings, UV curable coatings, electrodeposition, autodeposition, catalyzed coatings.
3. Calculate the theoretical cost savings of switching to an alternative coating (link to info sheet.) To make a more informed decision, the true cost, including capital costs, operating costs, and the cost of the coating (on a solids basis) per part must be calculated.
Operator Training
1. Inspect parts before coating. This will eliminate coating rejected parts.
2. Train operators in the proper spraying techniques. Factors such as equipment set-up and adjustment, part geometry, trigger timing, stroke speed, spray area configuration, overlap, etc. affect the transfer efficiency of the spray equipment.
3. Train employees to calculate precise mixing rations of thinner to paint. This will minimize the use of solvent.
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