Emission of BTEX and PAHs from molding sands with furan cold setting resins containing different contents of free furfuryl alcohol during production of cast iron

At present, furan resin is the largest selling no-bake system of moulding sands. The most commonly used furan no-bake binders(FNB) are condensation products of furfuryl alcohol(FA) urea, formaldehyde and phenol. They are generally cured by exposure to organic sulfonic acids. FNB provide excellent mold and core strength, cure rapidly and allow the sand to be reclaimed at fairly high yields, generally 75%-80%, especially in applications where due allowance is made for the need to keep total sulfur content below 0.1%. However, due to probable carcinogenic properties of furfuryl alcohol, the EU Directive limits the content of this substance(in a monomer form in resin) to 25%. The classification of furfuryl alcohol and the resulting furan resin products has changed from "harmful" to "toxic by inhalation". The aim of this study was to determine the effect of free furfuryl alcohol content in the resin on the emission of harmful substances from the BTEX(Benzene Toluene Ethylbenzene & Xylene) and PAHs(polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon) group exposed to high temperature and how it affects the emissions allowance of reclaimed sand in the matrix. Three resins from a leading manufacturer were examined, which contain a free furfuryl alcohol content of 71%-72%, about 50% and < 25%, respectively. The hardener for each resin was 65% aqueous solution of paratoluenesulfonic acid. Tests were carried out in semi-industrial conditions where liquid cast-iron was poured into sample sand mold at 1,350 °C. The matrix of the studied sands was reclaimed in the amount of 0, 50%, 100%, respectively.With the increase of free furfuryl alcohol content, the volume of evolved gases decreased. For all resins the main component from the BTEX group dominating in the emitted gases was benzene; however toluene also appeared in the amount of a few percentages. In contrast, ethylbenzene and xylenes occurred only in the gases emitted from resin-bonded sands with the largest furfuryl alcohol content. The increase in the share of reclaimed sands resulted in very significant increase in the volume of gas generated and participation of benzene in these gases. In terms of emission of compounds from the PAHs group virtually for all resins, the total content of these substances was comparable(within the limits of error). The main components were: fluoranthene, pyrene and benzo(a) anthracene.

Optimization of tensile strength for new type acetone-urea-formaldehyde furan resin using uniform design

In this study,the 24 h tensile strength of new type acetone-urea-formaldehyde furan resin (nitrogen content 3%) was investigated by uniform design optimization.Four independent variables such as acetone:formaldehyde molar ratio (mol/mol),solution pH value,reaction temperature (℃) and reaction time (min) were considered in the experiments.U13(134) uniform design was employed and the equation of 24 h tensile strength model was obtained after 13 experimentations.The 24 h tensile strength was optimized by applying single factor experiments and stepwise non-linear regression analysis.Minitab (Minitab 15 trial version) and MATLAB (R2010a trial version) were used for data analysis.The t-value and p-value indicate that the major impact factors include the interaction effect of solution pH value and reaction temperature (X2X3),the linear terms of acetone:formaldehyde molar ratio (X1),reaction time (X4) followed by the square effects of acetone/formaldehyde molar ratio (X1X1).The optimized results were achieved with the acetone:formaldehyde molar ratio (mol/mol) at 3:1,solution pH value at 6.0,reaction temperature at 70℃,and reaction time at 140 min,respectively.This method can not only significantly reduce the number and cost of the tests,but also provide a good experimental design strategy for the development of furan resin.The investigation shows that the predicted results of 24 h tensile strength are consistent well with the experimental ones.

Effect of praseodymium on catalytic graphitization of furan resin carbon

We introduced a new catalyst,rare earth element praseodymium,for the catalytic graphitization of furan resin carbon.The extent of graphitization of the furan resin carbon was examined by X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy.The morphology of furan resin carbon was characterized by scanning electron microscopy.The effects of the praseodymium content and the heat-treatment temperature on the catalytic graphitization of furan resin carbon were also investigated.The results indicated that the praseodymium c...

Substitute materials of furfuryl alcohol in furan resin used for foundry and their technical properties

Based on a special synthesis process of furan resin,the furfuryl alcohol(FA),the main component of typical no-bake furan resins is substituted by ethanol and xylitol mother liquor which is relatively low price and chemically active.Through orthogonal test,the optimal amount of xylitol liquor,ethanol and modifier has been determined.Finally,the test results on technical properties show that the performance can meet the production requirement well,which indicate a success in this substituting attempt.

Curing mechanism of furan resin modified with different agents and their thermal strength

The curing mechanism of furfuryl alcohol and urea-formaldehyde furan resins was investigated using infrared spectroscopy(IR) technique.The curing productions of urea-formaldehyde furan resins modified with different agents(i.e.sorbitol,polyester polyol,phenol and acetone) and the productions of incomplete curing were characterized by differential thermal analysis(DTA) and thermal gravity analysis(TG).The results indicate that except for polyester polyol,the other modifiers have little effect on the thermal strength of urea-formaldehyde furan resin.Furthermore,the thermal strength can be improved at a temperature of higher than 550℃.

Investigation on synthesis of a low cost no-bake furan resin system with a high strength

The synthesis of a low cost no-bake furan resin with a high strength was researched in this paper. Through the analysis of main factors influencing the strength of furan resin, an orthogonal experiment was conducted to optimize synthesis of urea-formaldehyde furan resin with 3% nitrogen. The critical factors and their optimal levels were confirmed, and high strength property was obtained. Subsequently, some active substitute materials, including polyols A agent, methyl alcohol, mother liquid of xylitol, polyols B agent and ethanol, were used for partly substitution of furfural alcohol, the main material component of furan resin. A good combination of the substitute materials was determined to achieve a high strength, and the overal proportion of substitute materials to the resin is 20%. In this study, the substitution mechanism on furan resin was also characterized and analyzed by IR.