Technological Advance in Solvents Drive a Significant Decrease of Vocs Emission and Negative Impact in Industrial Solvent-Use Source

Abstract

Industrial solvent use is a major source of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emissions, posing significant environmental and health risks. However, the driving factors of VOCs reduction are rarely discussed in the specific emission source, impeding future regulatory efforts for this pollution source. This study investigates VOCs emission profiles from solvent-based solvents and water-based solvents during industrial solvent use, focusing on key drives of emission and environmental/health risk. Field experiments revealed a dramatic reduction in VOCs emissions from solvent-based solvents in recent years, with fugitive emission concentrations (FC) decreasing by 99.0% and breathing zone concentrations (BZC) by 99.8% compared to previous studies. In contrast, low VOCs emissions were consistently measured for water-based solvent, while a limited decrease was observed. Moreover, effective ventilation was shown to significantly reduce VOCs concentrations, particularly for solvent-based solvents, with a 57.9% decrease at high wind speeds compared to low wind speeds. Component reactivity analysis showed a notable reduction in highly reactive VOCs components in solvent-based solvents, driven by advancements in solvent formulations. These findings underscore the importance of regulating reactive and toxic species in industrial solvent-use sources.

Keywords: Volatile organic compounds (VOCs), Solvent use, Solvent-based paints (SBPs), Water-based paints (WBPs), Driving factor, Risk assessments