Spray Painting with Heated Nitrogen Liquid Material application using spray gun technology has relied on compressed air since the early 1900s. The presence of moisture in the compressed air has always been a challenge during liquid and powder applications. Inline filtration and refrigerated drying do remove some of the moisture created during the condensation process. Point of use compressed air filters further assist in the removal of moisture, but with minimal benefits to the application of spray paint. Moisture in the compressed air lines affects the quality of application when spraying paint or other liquids that do not react well with moisture. When spraying paint with compressed air, you are atomizing the paint with multiple gases that make up our atmosphere. The ideal requirement for a propellent should be one without moisture present. Hence, the use of Nitrogen. Nitrogen is the most abundant gas in our atmosphere and obviously, the same in compressed air. The inert qualities of Nitrogen allow the addition of heat without any effects, but the benefits of heated Nitrogen raise the quality and efficiency of spray paint application. The process of using heated nitrogen through the separation of oxygen and hydrogen from the compressed air results in the cleanest, dry medium available for spray applications. The addition of heat to the nitrogen further enhances efficiency and productivity in the promotion of the curing/drying time of the liquid being applied. The atomization process using a single gas (nitrogen) is far more efficient than the atomization of paint with multiple gasses in compressed air. Atomization can now occur at lower pressures, thereby minimizing overspray and wasted material with significant fewer VOCs being exhausted into the atmosphere, which subsequently increases the lifespan of spray booth exhaust filters and most importantly does not harm the environment. Use of this technology results in benefits in material savings, improved cycle times (due to faster curing) and a higher quality finish. The spray painting process requires large volumes of nitrogen and can be addressed with an in-house “nitrogen on-demand” generator solution that eliminates the need for high-pressure tanks and adherence to hazardous requirements.
Tim Sramcik, a technical journalist has published material on this subject here

The NitroMax systems will provide an unlimited supply of heated nitrogen….. spray with nitrogen

Benefits of Heated Nitrogen

TRANSFER EFFICIENCY

Spraying with a single gas (N2) improves minimizes the overspray, thereby wasting less material and improving your transfer efficiency. A higher volume of paint is transferred to the part being painted and less material is wasted into the atmosphere

FLASH TIME

The Nitrogen supplied by the Nitromax system is inert and dry (characteristics of Nitrogen), the introduction of heat via the heated hose to the spray gun promotes paint flash time and consequently productivity.

FINISH QUALITY

The absence of moisture ensures a higher finisher quality. Minimize “buffing and sanding”

CYCLE TIME

Faster flash times, better transfer efficiency and cleaner finish quality results in improved cycle times