Industrial painting

Abstract

The study focuses on the adoption of innovations that reduce environmental impact from industrial painting (coating of metal products). Traditional wet-paint technology is associated with extensive environmental and health problems due to the use of volatile organic compounds (VOC). The effort to reduce the emission of VOC has taken different routes. One line of development has been ‘end-of-line’-oriented, based on the use of afterburners and filters (active carbon). Another line has been process- and product-oriented, substituting VOC-based technologies with water-based paints and powder-paint systems. In the study we have studied both firms with traditional paint application (wet-paint spraying) that have adopted afterburners, and firms that have adopted or upgraded powder-paint plants.