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Home / Blog / The Ultimate Guide to Paint Booth Scrubbers: Enhancing Air Quality

The Ultimate Guide to Paint Booth Scrubbers: Enhancing Air Quality

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Paint booth scrubbers clean the airspace from paint mist, micro-particles of paint and varnish, and also protect the painted and other surfaces from dust deposition. Let's examine the types of pollutants found in these production areas and how to effectively remove them.

Hazards and Risks of Coating Materials

Components in coating materials (CM) can enter the human body through the skin, digestive system, and respiratory organs. The greatest harm to humans comes from micro-particles of CM that are inhaled. This is because impurities ingested through the digestive tract are absorbed into the bloodstream much more slowly.

Solvent vapors have the most severe negative impact on the body. At low concentrations, they can cause excitement, while high levels of exposure lead to dizziness, nausea, vomiting, increased irritability, and drowsiness. Solvents such as acetone, gasoline, and various alcohols can irritate the mucous membranes of the upper respiratory tract, eyes, and cause allergic or inflammatory skin reactions.

If paint particles (especially in liquid form) are microscopic in size, they can cause significant damage to production facilities and other equipment. Pigments and oily contaminants that reach critical machinery components can impair the operation of the equipment.
Paint Booth
Paint Booth
Particles of paint larger than 10 micrometers are considered toxicological and pose a serious threat to personnel working in environments where CM are used. Contact with such contaminants should be avoided, and air purification from paint is crucial. This process not only neutralizes secondary CM particles but also ensures industrial ventilation, which is particularly important for enterprises involved in the production of coating materials.

As for solid powder aerosols, they are often classified as explosive substances in most technological processes. To minimize the risk of accidents, organizations implement a comprehensive set of measures through their technical services.

Composition of Contaminants

The composition of coating materials (CM) is highly complex, consisting of numerous elements. A significant portion is made up of various organic and inorganic solvents. Contaminants that arise from the use of coatings and solvents include:
  • Particles that settle and accumulate.
  • Semi-solid residues.
  • Residual liquids and drips.
  • Gaseous emissions.
Volatile contaminants pose the greatest risk to human health and the environment, as they are released into the air during the use of CM and while drying painted items. Significant emissions are observed when painted surfaces are exposed to high temperatures.

Paint particles may contain toxic components such as arsenic, chromium, mercury, lead, and hazardous biocides. Organic solvents used to achieve the liquid state of CM can constitute 40-50% of the mixture.

The concentration of coating vapors in indoor air must not exceed the permissible exposure limits (PEL).

Air Purification Equipment for Spray Booths

We manufacture cleaning equipment for spray booths, which you can purchase under favorable conditions. We offer a range of standard cartridge filters, as well as scrubbers, absorbers, and adsorbents suitable for powder coating.

Scrubbers

Absorptive gas cleaning is required for large volumes of harmful emissions. Gas and vapor particles are absorbed by a liquid phase. Paint booth air scrubber installations are common and include:
  • Foam (Bubble Tray)
  • Nozzle (Hollow)
  • Packed
  • Venturi
The most effective method of wet air scrubbing in a paint booth is using foam devices. A foam-type scrubber not only provides exceptional cleaning efficiency—up to 99.9% for water-soluble VOCs and up to 99% for 5-micron dust—but also effectively removes undesirable gaseous, mist, and aerosol contaminants, while neutralizing their explosiveness. The system can be used for filtering high-temperature environments.
Tray Scrubber

Cartridge Filters for Painting Booths

A spray booth with a dry cartridge-type filter provides excellent working conditions and high efficiency for the extraction system. Filter elements can be made from various materials:
  1. Cellulose filters made from paper are used for low-volume painting operations.
  2. Replaceable cartridge filters made of polyester offer high dust removal efficiency for high dust concentrations.
  3. Antistatic polyester fabric filters, which are grounded, are used for extracting electrostatic particles.
  4. Cassette filters made of polyester with a PTFE membrane and corrugated material are suitable for filtering fine, adhesive particles.

Adsorbers

A spray booth with dry filtration of the adsorber type provides effective operation by absorbing harmful impurities and gases onto the surface of solid materials with ultra-microscopic porous structures. Efficiency is determined by the adsorbent’s porosity, flow rate, and temperature of the treated environment.

The most common adsorber in this category is the activated carbon filter for spray booths, due to its cost-effectiveness and high efficiency. An adsorptive-type spray booth can be cleaned of harmful impurities either periodically or continuously.

Ventilation and Extraction System for Coating Operations

To effectively remove dust in a spray booth, it's essential to understand the fundamental requirements for the ventilation and extraction system. The room where coating work is conducted must be airtight and insulated. The optimal temperature should not exceed 77-86°F, and the air velocity should be no more than 4.9 ft/s. The ventilation system should also maintain humidity levels within the range of 50-70%. Since painting and drying processes require different temperature settings, the system must be equipped with controls for regulating airflow intensity and temperature.

Design

The design of the ventilation and extraction system for a painting room should address the following comprehensive tasks:
1. Remove air from local work areas and automatic spray points.
2. Capture mist and dust in the spray booth before they reach hazardous concentrations.
3. Neutralize both solid and soft particles released into the air during sanding and mechanical processing of the product.
4. Remove solvent vapors and other substances from the air in the booth.
5. Prevent the release of toxic particles and other contaminants into the atmosphere after they have been captured by the ventilation and extraction system.
You can purchase a ready-made filter for coating operations or order the design and manufacture of an air cleaning system for spray booths at competitive prices. We guarantee the high quality of our products. To start collaborating, simply write to us via our online chat or call +1 (918) 406-5684. Our specialists will contact you promptly.
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We always make extremely precise calculations and provide assistance in choosing the optimal cleaning systems, which usually takes 1 to 2 days.
Head of Engineering,
Vladimir Nikulin
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