The Use of Mass Balance Modeling in Web Coating Processes

Presented by Jeffrey G. Innocenzo, Webineering Group

Managing a coating process, specifically where flammable solvents are involved, can create opportunities for process understanding, statistical process control, and process safety management, than can benefit from the use of a well designed mass balance process model. Using live, spreadsheet based calculations, the fluid flow from solution pumping systems, coating coverage calculations, and solvent removal and dilution rates can all be interconnected and compared to identify process problems. Engineering and operations can audit processes for safety issues such as improperly mixed dryer exhausts or operations issues like shear induced viscosity reductions. After the model is established for a given coating process a few simple external inputs, often related to solution measures, are all that is required to have an ongoing mass balance model.