Condorchem organizes a workshop on the adaptation to the European directive in the field of VOCs

Iberian Condorchem organized at the end of March, in the College of engineering industrial de Catalunya, a seminar in which debate on the adaptation to the European directive on VOC (RD 117/2003). On the day, entitled "Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in industrial gaseous emissions", was raised that the problem for the gaseous emissions contaminated with VOCs has an impact on all kinds of companies of different size and industrial sector, but especially on those industrial activities involving the use and consumption of organic solvents.

The European directive and Spanish legislation regulate the limits of these pollutants according to the type of affected industrial activity and annual consumption of solvent involved. Thus, the objective of the seminar was to be a guide for action, as well as a discussion forum on the steps to follow to suit different industrial activities with the existing rules, always in the most effective, simple way and with the lower costs of possible management.

The seminar was particularly aimed at responsible for production, quality and environment as well as responsible for prevention of companies consumers of solvents and affected by law RD 117/2003. It is also aimed at engineering and environmental consultants.

Regenerative technical combustor for pharmaceutical synthesis

The seminar was particularly aimed at responsible for production, quality and environment as well as responsible for prevention of companies consumers of solvents and affected by law RD 117/2003

The papers presented were "Rules of implementation on atmospheric emissions (Dr 199/13/EC and 2003/117)", in charge of Meritxell Rodriguez, head of the monitoring and Control of the air of the Generalitat de Catalunya; "Control and mediation techniques in the field of fundamental parameters", in the hands of Jordi Solé, of the Technical Department of Envirotecnia; Another spoke on "how to develop the Management Plan, solvents, according to the RD 117/2003", by Sergi careers, Technical Director of Tandem C. environmental; and Lauro Gatti, President of Airptotech was about and the "best available technologies for the reduction of VOC emissions in the atmosphere, choice of the installation based on the investment, implementation costs and required benefits".

Meritxell Rodriguez explained that new facilities be applied RD 117/2003 immediately while the existing ones will have until October 31, 2007 to implement. Furthermore, it recalled its scope, which reaches from processes of coating (adhesives, vehicles, fabrics, coils, etc.) up to the oil extraction plant and refining, as well as the printing (flexography, offset, etc.) or the manufacture of footwear, varnishes, inks, pharmaceutical products, among others.

As for Jordi Solé, it presented the steps and specifications to follow in the taking of samples to analyse VOC, representative values and the expression of the results obtained.

Sergi races, for his part, explained that the solvent management Plan, described in annex IV to the RD117/2003, draws up a balance of masses and calculated from the consumption of solvents to diffuse emissions and the total emissions of the activity. Thus, with these data you can verify to comply with the residual limits of annex II; the diffuse % is below the limit values of annex II; the Total emission is less than the calculated limit or in annex II; and that the total emission is equal to or less than the object emission calculated by the system of reduction.

Finally, Lauro Gatti presented the systems for the purification of gaseous pollutant emissions from Airprotech, society of engineering and construction of equipment. Gatti pointed out that the chosen team must be technologically advanced, with unbajo impact on production costs, with correspondence to the analysis of risks, integrated into the production cycle and with no influence on the technological choice of the process of production (raw materials)(, etc.).

The main industrial activities concerned with the 117/2003 RD are the processes for the application of liquid paint and varnishes (for wood, metal, plastic, etc.) as well as the chemical industry and pharmaceutical chemistry. Also, is also aimed at the graphic arts and printing, manufacturers of paints, dyes, varnishes and glues, manufacturers of elastomer and synthetic fibers and surfaces with solvent cleaning processes.