VOC in Printers and its Elimination by Means of Thermally Activated Oxide Semiconductors (TASC)

Abstract

VOCs (volatile organic compounds) arising from fusers in printers, solvent inks in inkjet printers, or wet POD systems cause environmental problems at present. Therefore, efficient elimination technologies are in high demand. In this paper, we will present our novel VOC elimination system based upon thermally activated semiconductors (TASC) characterized by compact, lightweight, and low costs. Because of these appealing features, this system can easily be integrated into office printers or wet POD systems. The TASC technology dates back to our accidental finding that the semiconductor exhibits significant oxidative effects when heated at 350-500°C ; whereas quite inactive at room temperature. The present phenomenon has been applied to the complete decomposition of VOCs. The destruction mechanism is composed of the following three steps : 1. oxidation, i.e. creation of radicals, 2. radical splitting, i. e. fragmentation of the giant molecule, and 3. reaction with oxygen, i. e. complete combustion into H₂O and CO₂.