Thermon

Year Submitted: 2003

Process: Painting/Coating

Industry: Metal Fabrication

Wastes Reduced: Solvent

Equipment: Paint Gun Cleaning

Location: San Marcos TX

No. of employees: 300

Contact: Rodney Dupree

Description:

Cleaning paint spray guns generated significant amounts of solvent waste. Additionally, guns cleaned with the traditional soak method became clogged when the cleaning operation was not performed by experienced personnel

P2 Application:

Thermon purchased a spray gun cleaning system that circulates solvent through the gun. The cleaning solvent is filtered to remove particulates that clog the gun and the solvent is reused several times. The system decreases solvent purchases and more effectively cleans the paint spray gun even with inexperienced personnel performing the cleaning.

Environmental Benefits:

Thermon has reduced solvent used to clean spray guns by about 60%.

Details of Reductions

Additional Information :

The cost of the spray gun system was $700. The system was found to be very economical due to reduced solvent costs and, more importantly, reduced spray gun failure due to improper cleaning. The cost of the unit was recovered in 6 to 8 months even though Thermon does little painting.

Source: TCEQ