The processes of electroplating, anodizing and galvanizing produce several different wastestreams, including contaminated wastewaters, metallic sludges, and air emissions. In most plating shops, the bulk of the waste co..
The dangers of lead-based paints were essentially unknown to the public until the 1970's. At that time, over four million children were found to have elevated levels of lead in their blood as a result of breathing dust ..
Every wall, every car--almost every object we come in contact with--has some sort of paint or surface coating. With the growth and sophistication of the paint and surface coating industries have come environmental and h..
Over the years, there has been a trend away from coatings that emit volatile organic compounds. One of the more exciting developments in this regard has been the use of powder coatings. Powder coatings are applied as d..
To keep the nation's fleet of military aircraft painted requires thousand of gallons of paint and primer, and a year-round effort. At military facilities like Hill Air Force Base, the past use of hazardous liquid solven..
For decades, workers in the auto body industry were exposed to hazardous emissions, and pollutants were leached into the air. As a result, auto paint manufacturers resolved to develop more environmentally friendly paint..
A variety of materials and methods is used to create paper, but the basic process still involves techniques that are centuries old: the moistening, separating and intertwining of fibers to form a sheet. Different kinds ..
In the Kraft process, making pulp begins by conveying wood chips of uniform size into a vessel called a digester. Once the pulp-making process is complete, the pulp is transformed into paper. However, not all mills mak..
Mechanical pulping methods avoid many of the environmental impacts created by the Kraft pulping process. Several different mechanical pulping methods are commonly used today, but they all rely primarily on energy rather..
From pulping, to bleaching, to forming sheets on the paper machine, papermaking creates air emissions, water emissions--or effluent--as well as solid waste. However, the environmental impacts of the process are mitigate..