THE DEVELOPMENT OF A SMALL-SCALE WATERFALL PAINT STRIPPING SYSTEM

TECHNICAL RESEARCH ASSOCIATES, INC. AND HILL AIR FORCE BASE PERSONNEL HAVE EXCHANGED IDEAS AND TECHNOLOGIES IN SEVERAL AIR FORCE SBIR PHASE I AND PHASE II PROJECTS. IN THESE PROJECTS, TRA ESTABLISHED SUCCESSFUL POLYURETHANE AND EPOXY PAINT DEGRADATION. AN AIR FORCE PHASE II, NOW IN PROGRESS, IS DEVELOPING A BEAD BLAST PAINT AND PRIMER WASTE BIODEGRADATION SYSTEM. THESE PROJECTS HAVE GIVEN TRA A FIRM UNDERSTANDING OF AIR FORCE NEEDS AND REQUIREMENTS. THIS PROPOSED PROJECT WOULD USE THIS EXPERIENCE TO DEVELOP A SMALL-SCALE WATERFALL PAINT STRIPPING BIODEGRADATION SYSTEM. UNDER NEW EPA STANDARDS, LESS HAZARDOUS PAINT DISPOSAL TECHNIQUES ARE NEEDED. THIS PROCEDURE WOULD REMOVE BOTH AIR AND WATER POLLUTION, WOULD BE LESS COSTLY AND COULD BE EFFICIENTLY SCALED. A SMALL-SCALE WATERFALL WILL BE BUILT AND TESTED IN THE FIRST TASK. RATE AND VOLUME DATA AS WELL AS REPRESENTATIVE SLUDGE CHARACTERISTICS WILL BE ACQUIRED. TASK II WILL TEST A PROPOSED PAINT AND SOLVENT SLUDGE REMOVAL AND DISPOSAL SYSTEM. AN ENVIRONMENTALLY SAFE EFFLUENT WILL BE PRODUCED. TASK III WILL CHOOSE THE PREFERRED CONFIGURATION AND BEGIN OPTIMIZATION. THE COST EFFECTIVENESS WILL BE ASSESSED WITH AN ECONOMIC EVALUATION. A SMALL-SCALE PROTOTYPE WILL BE DELIVERED AT THE END OF THE PROJECT.