Mazda on Monday said it had successfully launched the new developed aqua-tech paint system at its Ujina plant one in Japan.
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The new technology is said to achieve the world’s highest standards for limiting emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOC) contained in paint as well as carbon dioxide (CO2) gas generated from the energy consumed during the vehicle painting process.
The new system maintains the same low CO2 emissions volume as the three layer wet paint system currently used at all of its production facilities in Japan but reduces VOC emissions by a further 57%.
At only 15g per square metre of vehicle body surface, the extremely low VOC emissions volume makes aqua-tech the least polluting water-based paint system in the world and also delivers improved paint quality, the automaker claimed.
Water-based paints tend to produce far lower VOC emissions than solvent-based paints due to their low VOC content. However, drying water-based paint consumes much more energy because the water must be evaporated through a drying process. The large amounts of carbon dioxide produced during this process have long been an issue associated with water-based paint systems.
The new technology includes the introduction of an improved paint shop air conditioning system and a new, evaporation system that removes the water contained in the paint.
Coating processes have been consolidated by developing new top coat paints that exhibit additional properties usually provided by primer paint such as brightness, durability and resistance to chipping and light damage.
Ujina plant one is located near Mazda’s headquarters in Hiroshima and a key production facility for the automaker.
