A coat of paint adds considerable value to an automobile. In addition to consuming up to 60% of the energy needed by automobile assembly plants, however, the painting process also creates both economic and environmental impacts. This study investigated the degree of cost and environmental impact improvement that can be expected when modifications are considered for existing paint processes through heat integration. In order to accomplish this goal, a mathematical model was created to describe the energy use, costs, and environmental impacts from energy consumption in an automobile assembly painting facility. The model agrees with measured energy consumption data for process heating and electricity demand to within about 15% for one Michigan truck facility from which model input parameters were obtained. Thermal pinch analysis determined an energy conservation target of 58% of paint process energy demand. A heat exchanger network optimization study was conducted in order to determine how closely the network design could achieve this target. The resulting heat exchanger network design was profitable based on a discounted cash flow analysis and may achieve reductions in total corporate energy consumption of up to 16% if implemented corporatewide at a major automobile manufacturer.
Outdoor measurements of dry bacillus subtilis (BG) spores were conducted with a passive Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer using two types of chambers. One was a large open-ended cell, and the other was a canyon of similar dimensions. The canyon exposes the aerosol plume to downwelling sky radiance, while the open-ended cell does not. The goal of the experiments was to develop a suitable test methodology for evaluation of passive standoff detectors for open-air aerosol measurements. Dry BG aerosol particles were dispersed with a blower through an opening in the side of the chamber to create a pseudo-stationary plume, wind conditions permitting. Numerous trials were performed with the FTIR spectrometer positioned to view mountain, sky and mixed mountain-sky backgrounds. This paper will discuss the results of the FTIR measurements for BG and Kaolin dust releases.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.