Application of ozone decomposition catalyst in printing factory:

The production workshop of modern printing factory is filled with the unique fragrance of ink, but it hides invisible health threats. When the UV curing machine emits a faint blue light and the high-speed printing machine roars, ozone, an invisible killer, is quietly generated. In the air quality detection record of a large packaging and printing enterprise in the Yangtze River Delta, the peak ozone concentration in the workshop reached 0.5ppm, far exceeding the national health standard of 0.1ppm. This strong oxidizing gas not only threatens the respiratory health of workers, but also accelerates equipment aging and affects product quality. The introduction of ozone decomposition catalyst has brought a revolutionary solution to this problem that has plagued the industry for many years.

1. The generation code of ozone pollution in the printing workshop
In the UV curing process, short-wave ultraviolet rays with a wavelength of 185nm are like invisible scalpels, cutting and reorganizing oxygen molecules in the air. Each UV curing device that processes 2,000 sheets of paper per hour can produce pollution equivalent to 3.8kg of ozone. The static elimination device in the offset printing workshop is another hotbed of ozone. When the relative humidity is lower than 40%, the ozone concentration generated by corona discharge will increase by 2-3 times.

These ozone molecules have extremely strong permeability and can penetrate the protective layer of ordinary masks. Long-term exposure to 0.3ppm ozone environment, workers' lung function declines 30% faster than ordinary people. The average service life of the circuit board of a certain brand of printing machine was shortened by 42% under ozone erosion. What's more tricky is that ozone reacts with benzene in the ink solvent to generate secondary pollutant formaldehyde, forming complex pollution.

The traditional activated carbon adsorption method is like catching mosquitoes with a fishing net. In the high temperature and high humidity environment of the workshop, its adsorption efficiency is less than 40%. Although the thermal decomposition method can convert more than 90% of ozone, it consumes 0.15kW·h of electricity for every 1m³ of air treated, which means huge costs for continuous production printing plants.

2. Molecular-level attack and defense of catalytic materials
The surface of manganese-based catalysts is densely covered with nano-scale active sites, and the oxygen vacancies formed by its lattice defects are like micro-traps. When ozone molecules approach, the variable valence of manganese ions drives electron transfer, and the conversion efficiency of decomposing O3 into O2 reaches more than 98%. A certain type of catalyst still maintains a continuous conversion rate of 92% under the harsh conditions of 60°C and 70% relative humidity.

The precious metal catalyst adopts a sandwich structure of "honeycomb ceramic-alumina coating-platinum-palladium alloy". Precious metal particles with a diameter of 2nm are evenly distributed on a carrier with a specific surface area of 200m²/g to form an efficient microreactor. This structure enables the catalyst to still guarantee a conversion efficiency of more than 85% under the working condition of an air velocity of 20000h⁻¹.

The composite catalyst achieves selective catalysis through the screening effect of molecular sieves. The regular pores of the ZSM-5 molecular sieve guide ozone molecules to the active center and block the macromolecular organic matter volatilized by the ink. Experimental data show that this design extends the catalyst life by 3 times and maintains stable activity in a mixed gas containing 100ppm of toluene.

3. Customized solutions for printing workshops
In the rotary printing workshop, engineers adopted the dual strategy of "source capture + space purification". Plate-type catalyst modules are installed at the exhaust port of the UV light box, and the hollow fiber membrane diffusion system on the top of the workshop is used to form a three-dimensional protective net. After a certain enterprise applied it, the ozone concentration in the work area dropped from 0.28ppm to 0.05ppm, and the equipment failure rate dropped by 67%.

The flexographic printing workshop innovatively uses a rotatable catalyst cartridge. It automatically rotates 15° every 8 hours to ensure that the catalytic surface is evenly exposed to polluted gases. This design extends the replacement cycle from 3 months to 1 year and reduces maintenance costs by 40%. The supporting intelligent monitoring system can display the activity status of the catalyst in real time, and the early warning accuracy reaches ±5%.

In the digital printing workshop, the miniaturized catalytic device is directly integrated around the print head. The special-shaped catalyst carrier manufactured by 3D printing technology perfectly fits the equipment structure gap. This "close protection" keeps the ozone concentration inside the equipment below 0.02ppm, effectively avoiding the problem of oxidation and clogging of precision nozzles.

Standing in the renovated workshop of a printing factory, you can no longer smell the pungent odor, but fresh air instead. The workers took off their heavy protective masks, and the metallic luster of the equipment surface regained its luster. This is not only a victory of technology, but also the best interpretation of the "people-oriented" production concept. With breakthroughs in technologies such as new core-shell structure catalysts and photothermal synergistic catalysis, future printing workshops will achieve intelligent dynamic zeroing of ozone pollution, setting a benchmark for the green transformation of the industry. When every printed product carries the promise of clean production, this invisible technological innovation is reshaping the value dimension of the entire industry.