Pyrox: An Expert in Thermal Cleaning

Pyrox BVBA manufactures furnaces for thermal cleaning and recovery of industrial products across a wide range of applications. Through our expertise, we have grown and become an established name in various industrial sectors over time.

Applications for Our Furnaces:

• Electrical motor industry: Thermal dissolution of insulation materials. • Plastics industry: Thermal cleaning of press molds, extruder screws, filters, spinning blocks, etc. (removal of plastic residues). • Powder coating industry (See continuation of article) • Recovery: Applications in the electrical motor industry (copper), metal structures (racks, heating elements, wheel rims), etc. • Cleaning of oven trays (bakery industry) and various other applications. In the automotive industry, thermal cleaning of silicone-coated parts, etc. In the "electrical motors industry" application, bonding materials holding electrical motors and transformers together are burned to ash (in an incineration furnace) or lightly burned (in a pyrolysis furnace). Following process implementation, these windings can be easily removed and then re-insulated/rewound. The burning and pyrolysis of paints and resins to ash typically occurs in pyrolysis and incineration furnaces manufactured by Pyrox BVBA. A similar application exists in another sector engaged in cleaning industrial parts. What is done in this sector is environment-friendly cleaning of materials used in industry and coated with powder or wet paint, for reuse. During this process, it is very important that the material structure remains unchanged (pyrolysis). A special application in the surface treatment sector is the removal of paint from hanging hooks, panels, frames and other powder-coated equipment. Chemical methods exist for this purpose, and their disadvantage is that "the odor they produce is unhealthy and their disposal is complicated". In contrast, Pyrox BVBA specializes in thermal paint removal and for this purpose has both incineration furnaces and pyrolysis furnaces in its product range.

Types of Furnaces from Pyrox BVBA

Pyrox BVBA specializes not only in hot air drying furnaces usable for various applications (some of which can also be used for surface treatment), but also particularly in the production of custom-made incineration, pyrolysis and paint removal furnaces. These products form part of a complete cleaning process that Pyrox BVBA can assemble entirely according to the customer's requirements and the materials used. Our furnace operating principle is heating in a low-oxygen environment, thereby achieving complete dissolution of organic molecules. As a result, the organic compounds produced are burned in a final combustion chamber where excess oxygen is present. This process results particularly in water vapor and CO2. During the process, the pyrolysis chamber operates at temperatures between 350°C and 450°C and in an oxygen environment of between 5% and 8%, thereby preventing ignition. For powder coating equipment, operation typically occurs at 420°C. The amount of oxygen in the final combustion chamber is variable and can always be adjusted to achieve optimal efficiency. It also allows emissions to be minimized.

Advantages of Paint Removal with Pyrolysis Furnaces

In the latest model furnaces, safety and the entire process from pyrolysis and final combustion temperature control to oxygen ratio in the final combustion chamber is completely controlled and adjusted with the aid of JUMO PLC control. This advanced design brings numerous advantages. The design first and foremost meets the requirements of the European directive (CE) currently in effect regarding gas emissions. This fact is important for all companies that remove paint from profiles and auxiliary parts and, regardless of the method selected, constantly face liquid, solid or gaseous emission problems. Considering that disposal or collection of harmful residues is not permitted, choosing a method that meets environmental standards and energy supply requirements for pyrolytic paint removal with a furnace becomes the most user-friendly working method in this regard. Furthermore, the JUMO furnace allows adjustment of an optimal gas-to-air ratio in the furnace and final combustion chamber, thereby keeping energy bills at the lowest possible level. Adjustment of pyrolysis and final combustion is performed via touchscreen by the customer during and after installation. Provided there is an internet connection, process data and adjustment parameters can be remotely accessed and adapted by Pyrox BVBA. Furthermore, the customer can also monitor the process in the furnace via the internet. This matter is an important element within the scope of services Pyrox BVBA provides to its global customer network and at the same time provides assurance that optimal process conditions will continue to be controllable at all times.

Economic Considerations

Use of our furnaces can be found in various sectors such as furniture and plastics industries. Even industrial furnaces can take advantage of this technology to clean heavily soiled oven trays or clean silicon/PTFE coatings. By far the most widespread use is found in the powder coating and wet paint industry. The work of removing paint from profiles and auxiliary parts is sometimes outsourced to companies specializing in this work; but it is also sometimes done by the paint shop itself. This latter option is usually needed in companies where the paint shop is integrated into a production process – the automotive sector is a typical example of this. In contrast, in job-shop paint shops, economic factors determine whether paint removal will be managed by the paint shop itself or outsourced to third parties.

Pyrox BVBA's pyrolysis furnaces provide the decision-maker with important arguments at this point in favor of burning paint removal under the paint shop's own management:

• Products are manufactured for the user in accordance with special requirements. Harmful residues need not be transported and third parties need not be paid. Furthermore, PLC control ensures that the energy bill is low enough to accelerate cost recovery of the furnace. In most cases, break-even is reached within two years. • By adjusting process parameters according to the amount of parts to be painted (kg) and the user's paint composition (kg), the quality of paint removal performed in-house by the paint shop is higher than paint removal outsourced to third parties. This extends the life of hanging hooks. • There are several indirect benefits for companies that use the furnace to remove paint from hanging hooks. These companies will often decide to remove paint from hanging hooks more frequently than others, which is extremely beneficial for the auxiliary parts in question. This keeps the hooks cleaner, which ensures the quality of the final product to be painted/coated. Moreover, compared to the amount of hanging hooks required when outsourcing paint removal to third parties, a smaller number of hanging hooks needs to be purchased, resulting in indirect savings. Pyrox BVBA can reference its customers from the surface treatment sector. Some references include; Robberechts (Office furniture - Turnhout – Belgium), INEOS (Chemical industry - Feluy - Belgium), Strabeko (Paint removal - Tilburg - Netherlands) and baking plate cleaning.

Mr. Patrick Van Noten Chief Executive Officer Pyrox BVBA