VOC regulation (31st Federal Immission Control Ordinance)
VOC-Schema
VOC is the abbreviation for volatile organic compounds, which refers to volatile organic substances.
350,000 to 400,000 tons of volatile organic compound emissions are generated annually from the industrial processing of paints and coatings. Approximately 80% of these emissions come from non-permit-required painting facilities that are not regulated by the Technical Instructions on Air Quality Control (TA-Luft). The draft of the Paint Shop Regulation focuses primarily on addressing these 80% of facilities. The aim of the regulation is to promote the increased use of solvent-reduced paint systems, without prescribing any specific system, as emphasized by the authorities in charge.
According to the concept of the Paint Shop Regulation, businesses that exclusively use coatings with a certain VOC value (low-emission coatings) will not be subject to specific technical or organizational requirements. To ensure that most businesses can meet this condition when the regulation comes into effect, long transition periods are planned. Upon the regulation's enforcement, coating materials with a VOC value of up to 420 g/l will initially be defined as the upper limit, and four years later, coatings with a value of up to 250 g/l will be set as the maximum limit. The latter value is intended as a long-term target. It can be met by water-based coatings (depending on the solids content, with solvent content of up to approximately 15% by weight), powder coatings, and high-solid coatings with a solids content of more than 75%.
For facilities with a consumption of volatile organic compounds (VOC) below 5 tonnes per year, extensive technical measures and measurements can be waived.
We will prepare the VOC calculations required by the authorities for you.