Proco

Proco is a liquid coagulant and biocide designed to be used within a wet spray booth or with industrial water that is contaminated with all types of coating such as paint, glue, NDT, lacquers and even powder paints.

When adding Proco, you are treating the water so that the contaminants are no longer able to mix with it therefore we can remove them from the water and the biocide will kill bacteria. The separated paint will be kept soft which stops it from sticking within the booth such as within pipes, pumps and nozzles. Proco is normally used with solvent based coatings however it also works very well when the water contains a mixture of different coatings such as solvent-based, water-based or powder coatings.

Proco can be used alone, to keep paint soft and allow the biocide to kill bacteria or you can use it in conjunction with Proflo+ which will allow you to remove the waste from the water, either manually or via a filter such as our Bigfloc systems, thus eliminating the need for water changes and greatly reducing production down-time and wasted man-hours.

Product Usage

The way that Proco is used depends upon your system and how you want or need Proco to work. A different type of booth may require Proco to be added in a different way but basically providing that the chemicals are added, and our directions followed then the system will work.

We will give one example here and that is of a standard wet-back spray booth* with a tank capacity of 1000-litres of fresh water and where both Proco & Proflo+ is being used. The first thing that needs to be done is to establish the correct concentration of products within the booth water. The concentration needs to be approximately 1% of Proco and 0.4% Proflo+ (this can vary depending upon different types of paint) so 10-litres of Proco and 4-litres of Proflo+ would need to be added to the booth water before any painting is started.

After this, there is a daily addition of Proco which needs to be kept as close as possible to the working concentration so that the biocide levels are correct and so that it is strong enough to keep the paint from going hard and sticking. Most customers with this type and size of booth will clean the water on a weekly basis which entails stopping the booth and undertaking a titration of the booth water to establish how much Proco and Proflo+ is required to be added. Once this is done, the products are added, and the paint skimmed from the surface. The booth water is now clean, and production started.

This weekly treatment and the removal of the paint should only take 10-15 minutes and we do train the operators how to do everything.

*Just so that we are all talking about the same thing, we are classing a wet-back booth a one where the water is pumped, from the tank, to the top of the screens and into the area behind the screens where it then flows back to the tank.

FAQ

Do I have to empty the water from my spray booth before using Proco?

This is a very common question to which the answer is 'sometimes'. If your booth water contains a small amount of paint build-up and doesn't contain any chemicals other than your paint overspray, then there is a very good chance that we can start using Proco without having to change your booth water. If, however, the water has a large amount of sludge within the tank or contains chemicals other than your paint then we would recommend changing the booth water and starting with fresh water.

The pipes & nozzles are always blocking, will using Proco reduce this?

Proco will certainly reduce blockages both within pipes, pumps and nozzles. Proco does three things to your booth water and the overspray within it; firstly, Proco stops the paint from sticking within the system, secondly Proco (when mixed with Proflo+) allows the paint to separate from the water so that it can be easily filtered and thirdly the paint is kept soft until removed. Blockages will be reduced and even eliminated as the paint is soft and will not stick.

The water pressure within my booth has reduced over time. Will Proco help?

Our products can improve water pressure and the general operation of your booth in many ways. Proco will, over time, soften hard paint with your booth meaning that gradually the internal diameter will increase so the water flow will improve. This means that paint in hard to reach areas such as within pipes and pumps will be removed and the booth will slowly return to its original operational state. Providing that Proco is used correctly and as directed, you will not have new paint building-up and blocking your booth and, slowly, existing paint will be removed. However, the booth can be totally cleaned within a couple of days by using one of the products from our range of descalers. By adding this to your booth water, and allowing it to circulate for a few shifts, paint will be softened very quickly allowing to totally clean the booth within a few days.

Will using Proco stop my booth water from smelling so bad?

Proco contains an active biocide which will kill bacteria within the water. Basically, it is this bacteria that is causing the smells as the paint, within the water, starts to break-down. But, it is not the biocide alone that will stop the smell as the Proco system will allow you to remove all of the paint build-up in the first place. Therefore, if you are removing the paint then there will not be any in the water to start breaking down which means no smells.

Do I have to use Proflo+?

Proco and Proflo+ are designed to work in conjunction with each other to keep your spray booth water clean and clear of paint build-up however you don't have to use Proflo+ if you would prefer not to but this will mean that you will be unable to successfully remove all of the paint from your system. As we have said, Proco & Proflo+ do different jobs; Proco will keep paint soft within your booth and will allow it to separate from the booth water, Proflo+ pulls the separated particles together and helps them to float so that they can be removed. If you decide not to use Proflo+ then the paint will be separated, it will be soft and will be less inclined to stick within pipes and nozzles but it will not float therefore it will slowly collect on the floor of the water tank. This is fine for some installations and for some owners but for the majority of our customers Proflo+ is used.