Nanoparticle Emission Characterization and Management in Nanocoating Material Spray Operation

Abstract

Nanoparticle emission occurs during nanomaterial manufacturing, application, and the use phase of the end product. Nanopaint is a very promising type of nanocoating material, in which nanoparticles are added into the resin of the paint. During paint spray, a certain fraction of paint unable to land on the surface of substrate will enter the environment. The nanoparticles contained in tiny paint droplets are thus emitted, which will fly in the air for a certain period of time, and then either land on the wall of the spray booth or follow the ventilation air flow to a drainage water system. To minimize the adverse environmental and health impact and to improve nanopaint transfer efficiency, the nanoparticle emission must be minimized and managed. In this paper, we introduce a CFD-based modeling and simulation approach to characterize nanoparticle transport dynamics and quantify nanoparticle emission. The models are incorporated into a comprehensive system model set that includes a process energy efficiency model and a product quality model that characterizes the formation of nanocoating film on substrates. The model set is then used to study the entire nanopaint spray operation, where coating quality, material and energy use efficiency, and emission minimization are characterized. Case studies will demonstrate the efficacy of the methodology with comparison of literature data.