Innovative application of ozone decomposition catalyst in environmental governance of printing workshops

With the rapid development of the printing industry, the problems of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and ozone pollution generated in the production process have become increasingly prominent. Especially in modern printing workshops that use advanced processes such as UV curing inks and laser platemaking, the emission of high-concentration ozone has become an important environmental hazard that threatens the health of employees and affects the life of equipment. In recent years, the breakthrough progress of ozone decomposition catalyst technology has provided the printing industry with an efficient and economical pollution control solution.

Causes and hazards of ozone pollution in printing workshops

In modern printing processes, ultraviolet curing equipment will generate short-wave ultraviolet rays with a wavelength of 185nm when working. This high-energy ray can dissociate oxygen (O₂) in the air into oxygen atoms (O), and then combine with oxygen molecules to generate ozone (O₃). The measured data of a large packaging and printing company showed that the ozone concentration around the UV curing machine can reach 0.8-1.2ppm, far exceeding the national workshop safety limit of 0.1ppm.

The strong oxidizing property of ozone causes multiple hazards: direct irritation of the human respiratory tract and eye mucosa, long-term exposure may cause chronic bronchitis; accelerated corrosion of metal parts of equipment, resulting in a 30% shortening of the life of the transmission system of a German-imported printing press worth millions of yuan; and photochemical reactions with benzene series in the workshop to generate secondary pollutants PM2.5 and formaldehyde.

Technical breakthrough of ozone decomposition catalyst

The advent of a new manganese-based composite catalyst (Mn-Ce-Co/γ-Al₂O₃) solves the above problems. Its innovation is reflected in:

High-efficiency catalysis at room temperature: at a workshop temperature of 25-40℃, the ozone decomposition efficiency reaches more than 98%, without additional energy consumption;

Honeycomb structure design: ceramic carrier with a specific surface area of 300m²/g increases the gas contact efficiency by 5 times;

Moisture resistance and stability: through rare earth element doping, it still maintains 90% catalytic activity in an environment with a relative humidity of 80%;

Extremely long service life: laboratory accelerated aging test shows that the activity only decays by 8% after 8000 hours of continuous operation.

Systematic application scheme for printing workshop

Source control module

Install catalytic filter element at the air outlet of UV curing equipment, and adopt "catalytic oxidation + physical interception" two-stage treatment. The practice of a book and magazine printing factory shows that this scheme can reduce the instantaneous concentration of ozone from 1.1ppm to 0.05ppm.

Space purification system

A catalytic coated metal mesh is arranged along the workshop ventilation duct, and dynamic regulation is realized in combination with an intelligent sensor system. After installation in an electronic label printing workshop in Shenzhen, the ventilation frequency was reduced from 12 times/hour to 6 times, saving 150,000 kWh of electricity per year.

Mobile emergency unit

The purification equipment equipped with nano-catalytic filter element can be flexibly deployed during equipment maintenance. Actual measured data shows that the equipment can reduce the ozone concentration from 0.8ppm to a safe range in 2 hours in a 30m³ space.

The application of ozone decomposition catalyst marks the strategic transformation of pollution control in the printing industry from terminal treatment to process control. With the advancement of the "dual carbon" goals, this technology is triggering a green revolution in printing workshops - the latest ESG report of a listed printing group shows that through the comprehensive application of catalytic purification systems, the annual carbon emission reduction of its 28 production bases is equivalent to planting 120,000 trees. This is not only a breakthrough in technology, but also an important practice for the printing industry to fulfill its environmental responsibility and achieve sustainable development.