Solder flux and tin vapor treatment system

Solder flux is a very common substance used in soldering. This substance, when soldered, will produce tin and flux gas, so how does the system handle it? Follow the article below to find out!

What is solder flux in soldering?

Solder flux is a commonly used flux in the soldering process. This substance makes tin soldering easier. At the same time, thanks to solder flux, the weld quality also becomes better. Specifically, the biggest effects of flux in soldering are:

• Clean and remove rust from metal surfaces.
• Anti-oxidation, limiting rust on metal surfaces
• It reduces the surface tension of joints, increases uniformity, and helps tin and zinc adhere firmly thanks to the film created by flux.
• Reduces the maximum amount of metal slag.

When soldering, using flux will definitely produce tin and flux fumes. Therefore, it is necessary to have a treatment system to protect the environment.

Exhaust gas treatment system

During the soldering process, the factory will use a treatment system to collect the tin and Flux vapors generated during the soldering process by using suction cups at the welding site. Or they can also be collected together in a large suction cup placed above. As follows:

Treating tin vapor exhaust gas

If the generated exhaust gas is tin vapor without flux, the exhaust gas at the generation site will be collected by a suction hood. Then, thanks to the centrifugal fan, the gas will pass through the ducts to the activated carbon treatment device. Here, the flue gas in contact with the surface of the activated carbon will undergo the adsorption process, in which the exhaust gas vapor is retained on the surface of the material by molecular forces and hydrogen bonds. Activated carbon treatment equipment achieves high efficiency, about 95%–98%, ensuring clean air is released into the environment.

The structure and operation of the tin vapor treatment system by the adsorption tower are as follows:

• Suction hoods and exhaust fans have the effect of collecting and sucking exhaust gas.
• Pipeline to carry gas from the generating location to the activated carbon treatment device
• The filter device has the effect of keeping the exhaust gas on the surface of the filter material, bringing the clean air out.

Treatment of flux gas mixed with tin vapor

Since solder flux vapor has adhesive properties, it is not enough to use the adsorption method. Because it will easily clog the activated carbon layer, it is necessary to combine two methods: absorb and absorption

Similar to the above treatment system, the exhaust gas at the generating sites will be collected by suction cups and then led through the air ducts to the treatment equipment. However, there is a slight difference between the tin and flux exhaust gas treatment equipment. It will have a structure of two floors:

• The first floor is the absorption floor, which contains the absorbent solution spread by specialized anti-clogging spray stoves. Here, the exhaust gas comes into contact with the absorbent solution, which will produce a chemical reaction. The pollutants in the exhaust gas are absorbed into the absorption solution. The remaining exhaust gas will pass through the blind separator and then to the second stage.
• The second layer is the activated carbon adsorption layer. Here, the exhaust gas is in contact with activated carbon, the adsorption process will occur. Tin vapor and pollutants remaining in the exhaust gas are retained on the surface of the material, while the clean air is discharged.

In general, the structure and operation of the tin vapor treatment system by the absorb and absorption tower are as follows:

• Suction hood, and exhaust fan with the function of collecting & exhausting exhaust gas
• Pipes used to lead exhaust gas to treatment equipment.
• The filter device has 3 stages: absorption stage, blind separator, and adsorption stage.

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The system for handling tin vapor and flux vapor is somewhat more complex, so it is necessary to design it reasonably so as not to occupy a lot of space while still ensuring efficient gas treatment. Hopefully, through the article, you have been able to understand more about this exhaust gas treatment system. Currently, Thetech is the main supplier of quality standard solder flux used in soldering. If you need to buy this product in large quantities, please contact Thetech for advice and a quotation!