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Innovative Laser Stripping Technology for Reducing VOC's, Toxics and Particulates
This page updated November 12, 2009
Chair’s Air Pollution Seminar |
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Wednesday, December 16, 2009
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Innovative Laser
Stripping Technology
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Katy Wolf, Ph.D.,
Director
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Paint stripping
formulations and methods used today result in emissions of Volatile
Organic Compounds (VOCs), toxic air contaminants, particulate matter
and various metals. The techniques also lead to generation of
a substantial amount of hazardous waste. Water use and
contamination and high energy use for controls can also result from use
of some of the methods. An alternative method of stripping paint that minimizes air emissions, waste, water pollution and energy use has been developed by Laser Strip. The company assembled a portable hand-held carbon dioxide laser stripping device. Laser Strip partnered with the Institute for Research and Technical Assistance (IRTA), a small nonprofit technical environmental organization, and Southern California Edison, a large electric utility, to conduct an Innovative Clean Air Technology (ICAT) project. This project involved conducting four demonstrations of the laser stripping device in applications where it might offer an environmental and cost advantage. The applications included aircraft and aircraft parts stripping, water storage tank stripping, ground vehicle stripping and Navy parts and hull paint stripping. The laser prototype device had low power and was designed to demonstrate the feasibility of the concept. Laser Strip is building two larger lasers, one a portable laser and the other a fixed laser which will have a much higher strip rate. The cost of stripping with one of these larger laser stripping devices was compared with the cost of stripping with the method that is used conventionally in the four applications where the prototype was demonstrated. The results indicate that the cost of using a laser for stripping is lower than the cost of using alternative technologies except in cases where the surface area that must be stripped is very high or the coating to be stripped is very thick. A conference that involved demonstrating the prototype device was held to communicate the project findings to interested parties.
Katy Wolf, Ph.D., is Director of the
Institute for Research and Technical Assistance (IRTA), a small
nonprofit technical environmental organization. IRTA was
established in 1989 to identify, develop, test and demonstrate safer
alternatives in industrial and consumer product applications.
IRTA relies on local, state and federal grants and contracts and
conducts projects to find safer alternatives. Dr. Wolf’s
research and demonstration work has focused heavily on solvent
alternatives in cleaning, paint stripping, dry cleaning, adhesive and
coating end uses. Dr. Wolf and IRTA, under Dr.
Wolf’s direction, have received numerous awards including, the South
Coast Air Quality Management District Clean Air Award, the EPA
Environmental Achievement Award, the Western Regional Pollution
Prevention Network Advocate of the Year Award, and the 1999 Governor’s
Environmental and Economic Leadership Award. Dr. Wolf has a
B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Washington, M.S. in
Physical Chemistry from San Diego State University, and a Ph.D. in
Chemical Physics from the University of Southern California.
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on this Series please contact: For
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