furniture manufacture

CASE STUDY # 132

1. Headline: New technology saves raw material loss and

improves quality in finishing wooden furniture.

2. Background: See below.

3. Cleaner Production Principle: New technology

4. Description of Cleaner Production Application:

Conventional air spray guns have been replaced with

air-assisted airless spray guns for spraying sealer on the

printed finish of bedroom suites in eighteen spray booths.

The new spray guns provide a better quality finish and

reduce raw material lost through overspray. The reduction

in overspray also allows the booths to be cleaned once

every three weeks rather than once per week, reducing

solvent waste from the cleanup.

Material/Energy Balance and Substitution

FEEDSTOCKS: Finishing sealer

WASTES: Finishing sealer, solvents

MEDIUM: Liquid

5. Economics

MONTHS TO RECOVER: 12

DISPOSAL & FEEDSTOCK: $55,000/yr from raw material

consumption

6. Advantages:

FEEDSTOCK REDUCTION: 15% per year

WASTE PRODUCTION: 15%/yr of the sealer, 50% less solvent

waste from spray booth cleanup

IMPACT: The improved spray guns allow for an improved

quality product, while reducing the amount of finishing

sealer waste from overspray. The solvent needed to clean

up the overspray, requiring hazardous waste disposal, is

reduced by 50%.

7. Constraints: No information provided.

8. Contact and Citation: "Case Summaries of Waste Reduction

by Industries in the Southeast", Schecter, Roger N., Hunt,

Gary, July, 1989, Page 14.

9. Keywords: United States, USA, wood, furniture, painting,

new technology, spray gun, booth, solvent, SIC 2511.

10. Reviewer's Comments: This case study part of a core

collection of case studies from North Carolina, USA and

was originally abstracted for the US Environmental

Protection Agency's Pollution Prevention Information

Clearinghouse. It underwent a UNEP IE funded technical

review in 1994 for quality and completeness. It was

edited for the ICPIC diskette in July 1995.

( Docno unep04: 112-003-A-281 )