BMW has a clear vision for its paint shop in Shenyang: the goal is to create nothing short of the world's most environmentally-friendly plant
Dürr is constructing a particularly resource-efficient green paintshop for BMW Brilliance Automotive Ltd. (BBA) in Shenyang, China where all of the technological innovations that the supplier has to offer in terms of environmentally friendly, sustainable automotive painting will be used.
RoDip M rotational dip coating is used in the PT/ED area. The rotational movement of the car bodies allows inclined sections at the entrance and exit of the dip tank to be eliminated. This leads not only to significant space savings, but also to reduced consumption of energy and chemicals due to smaller bath volumes.
Another “green” technical feature is the fully automatic IPP (Integrated Paint Process), which eliminates the need for primer and thus a drying phase as well. The spray booths are equipped with EcoDryScrubber technology, a dry separation method that requires no water or chemicals. With this technology, air recirculation can save 60% in energy consumption. The saturated binding material – a hazardous waste in conventional processes – can be re-used without any further treatment. This dry separation system is already in use or under construction in 40 paint lines on four continents.
Paint will be applied with 32 Dürr type EcoRP E033 and EcoRP L133 painting robots. These are equipped with the latest generation of atomizer, the EcoBell3, which, thanks to its compact design, can carry out exterior and interior painting. In conjunction with the EcoLCC color changer, this system produces minimal paint loss during color changes and gives shorter process times.
A further environmental measure is the use of heat wheels for heat recovery from supply and exhaust air. Even the waste heat from the dryers is recovered through a waste heat boiler. The exhaust air stream from the clear coat booth is purified beyond the regulatory requirements before leaving the facility. Through the use of membrane technology in the pretreatment, electro dipping and waste water system, both water consumption and the amount of waste water are reduced.
With its experience in eco-plant layouts, Dürr will build a simple, inexpensive industrial building with no intermediate levels. Multi-functional car body stacks in the form of high-rise storage facilities to ensure an optimum flow of materials add to the economical aspect of the plant.
Along with the environment, this project features another winner; BMW Brilliance can lay claim to operating the most sustainable “green” paint shop in the world. The specific energy consumption that it achieves with this facility will set new global standards, with less than 500 kilowatt hours of energy used per painted car body. This is a reduction of almost 70% on what was common just ten years ago.