Impact of VOC emissions on the printing industry
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At the invitation of the Hong Kong Government Environmental Protection Agency, the Hong Kong Graphic Arts Society appointed the author to participate in a "Research and Measurement of VOC Emissions Reduction in the Printing Industry" conference held by the Department on June 12, in addition to the Environmental Protection Agency. Relevant officials are also representatives of the Environmental Management Department of the Hong Kong Production Promotion Bureau, the Hong Kong Printing Industry Association and the Hong Kong Graphic Arts Society.
To save space, you can preview the green print page at http://eep.gaahk.org.hk/eep.html for VOC descriptions and definitions.
The meeting was mainly represented by the Productivity Council. It was commissioned by the Environmental Protection Agency to conduct a series of tests and measurement of VOC release and emission reduction in the printing plant. It is reported that the bureau has two rooms in Guangdong. Large-scale printing plants conduct in-plant testing and collect certain data. Although test samples, methods and data are highly questionable, it is possible that the Environmental Protection Agency will still use it as an emission reduction standard for legislation to regulate emissions reductions. After listening to the explanations from the representatives of the Productivity Council, the representatives of the two associations, including the author, raised a series of questions:
1 Why are test and measurement options in large factories of 500 to 1,000 people in China?
2 90% of Hong Kong's printing plants are small factories of less than ten people. Do these measures take into account the differences?
3 Most of the factory buildings in Hong Kong are in multi-storey industrial buildings. The height of the building is about four meters (12 ft). The factory area ranges from 100 to several thousand square meters. The environment is crowded and most of them rely on air-conditioning. Independent factory building, the bottom of the building can be more than ten meters, the plant area is as large as more than 100,000 square meters, many domestic factories rely on air convection, no or only a small part of the factory has air conditioning, how to compare the VOC content collected?
4 Why is Hong Kong's environmental management regulations to be tested and measured in China?
5 Is it appropriate to use Southern California's emission reduction standards as a Hong Kong blueprint?
6 Is the solvent recovery filter suitable for small printing plants in Hong Kong?
7 Mr. Ming, who is engaged in the import of inks and materials for measurement, and Mr. Chen, who is a Heidelberg press, have different data disputes. It is not a big problem to measure the accuracy of the data, but the return of the solvent recovery filter system is used. It is calculated that the productivity promotion bureau’s estimate is misleading. This technology and device existed many years ago. Apart from several sales in Taiwan a few years ago, it has not been sold in Asia for many years. The actual benefits are doubtful. In the era of meager profit in the printing industry, any additional cost increases may add to the burden on the operators.
8 The test report focuses on trying to reduce VOCs in the production process. There is no mention of the source of VOCs produced by solvent materials in the plant. Whether the Productivity Council should be made of ink, alcohol, car wash water, varnish, glue and mineral oil Start with products? If the Productivity Council can find environmentally friendly substitutes, Hong Kong printing companies are happy to adopt them. All means of reducing VOCs are no longer needed. Just like cars are no longer driven by gasoline, and the price is equal, users must be willing to adopt them. The Department's regulatory materials are more manageable and the factory emissions are easier to handle, resulting in less controversy and resentment.
9 If a solvent substitute for reducing VOC emissions can be found, the Hong Kong Government should first adopt it in the Printing Department of the Logistics Department. If it is valid, it can be promoted to the trade. It can also be made in the Government tender. The industry must adopt it. For example, designation Manufacturers must use plant inks, water oils, VOC-free cleaners, and alcohol substitutes.
10 The procurement methods of the government and other public institutions, all printed materials paid by public money should be changed from "low price" to "environmental priority" to stimulate the industry to adopt environmentally friendly materials and environmental production certification.
Summarizing this report, the author's personal opinion is that it is inappropriate to use legislation to control VOC emissions in the printing industry. The industry regards it as a nuisance legislation. The author believes that the productivity research of the Productivity Council is in the wrong direction. The bureau should focus on the testing of solvents and materials to find suitable low VOC emission substitutes and control them from the source.
In order to protect the environment, the printing industry has been working hard to keep up with the needs of the times. As one of the world's printing centers, Hong Kong's printed products are exported to all over the world. Among them, there are many advanced countries that value environmental protection. The Hong Kong printing industry has reached a consensus with customers, according to customer requirements. The use of environmentally friendly and sustainable materials has been operating smoothly for many years. It can be seen that monitoring from the source of materials is the best environmental industry management.