BOC Gases Wins a Second Contract for Solvent Recovery at Shurtape Technologies
The new Hudson, N.C., plant of Shurtape Technologies (Hickory, N.C.) will include an ASRS solvent recovery system, as well as a follow-on carbon adsorption unit, to recycle aromatic solvents used in producing adhesive tapes. The combined system will both recapture solvent in a ready-to-reuse form, and cut emissions from the adhesive drying ovens to below 50 ppm.
"The combination of BOC's technology and carbon adsorption with inert regeneration enables us to recover virtually all the solvent used in our process," said Paul Black, Shurtape's director of engineering.
"This is really the ultimate product endorsement," said BOC's sales manager, Steve Finley. "Repeat orders confirm that BOC provides high-quality equipment and customers are pleased with our performance."
The ASRS technology, which has been installed in about 50 plants worldwide, combines the cooling power of liquid nitrogen with nitrogen's inerting capability in drying ovens handling flammable solvents, explained Finley. A hot, solvent-laden nitrogen stream from the drying oven enters a series of condensers, which are cooled by liquid N2 running countercurrently. The stream enters the condenser section at around 20-30 percent solvent, and leaves at around 1 percent. (Typically, recovery rates are 96-97 percent.) The 1 percent stream then enters the carbon adsorption unit, which reduces solvent content to below 50 ppm. The dry nitrogen is then recycled back to the drying ovens, where it simultaneously inerts the oven atmosphere and absorbs solvent vapor. Some nitrogen is bled out of the system by using it to form a gas "curtain" at the entry and exit points of tape into the oven. Liquid nitrogen is delivered by tanker.
The ASRS technology is applicable to any solvent that condenses at refrigerative to cryogenic temperatures, Finley noted. It is being used for producers of magnetic and adhesive tapes and coated films. A relatively new, growing application is the electrolytic sheets used in lithium-ion batteries for portable electronic equipment. "Wherever you need nitrogen for inerting a flammable atmosphere, and you'd like to recover solvent or reduce emissions, ASRS makes a very attractive choice," Finley concluded.
A typical unit costs between $200,000 and $900,000; options such as the carbon adsorption unit are extra. BOC Gases can provide turnkey service, including designing and constructing the ASRS unit and installing it, and providing the liquid N2. It is also working with an oven vendor, C.M. Magnetics (Whittier, Calif.) to provide turnkey drying/solvent recovery systems.
Edited by Nick Basta
For more information, contact: Steve Finley, BOC Gases 575 Mountain Ave., Murray Hill, NJ 07974. Tel: 908-771-1961. Fax: 908-771-1460.