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::: SPRAYERS, FOGGERS and backpack pumps
    hygiene & environment by Graziano Dassi
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A look at the operational potential of some of the technical resources currently on the market ...

Disinfecting, disinfesting... time passes.
Slowly but surely, product catalogues are becoming richer and fuller. Some even go so far as to use bucolic images to stress the chemical industry’s concern for the environment.
The trend seems to be for refined formulas and micro doses typical of homeopathy. And the engineering industry? Definitely not lagging behind. This is proved by the fact that the control systems in the equipment are increasingly precise enough to allow the aforementioned tendency to homeopathy (who can forget the adulticide tests in a popular tourist resort in the south of France where 90% of all mosquitoes were eliminated by distributing a specific MD that, after monitoring and testing, found that only one gram of active principle was needed per hectare, i.e. 10,000 square metres).
If this is the trend, and fortunately there’s no evidence to the contrary, we must invest in the system: operator, products and equipment. If it is true, and we have no reason to refute this, that man comes before and after statistics, we should all make the effort to inform, educate and motivate so that the code of ethics in our profession leads us towards a system of care for the environment that, on the one hand, protects health and hygiene and respects the ecosystem on the other. I like to quote the slogan of an old company: “good with the good and bad with the bad.” In my opinion, this provides the right idea of our sector’s mission.
Let's now look at some technical resources (in no particular order) to establish a criterion for evaluating equipment: the Capri 2003 stainless steel backpack pump distributed by Zapi Expert, the B819 Master VM Diesel 140 hp engine by Martignani, the Derby.3.0/24-E ULV unit by Spray Team and the innovative Dual D26 by Tifone. These are just a few examples.
I suggest we all read the technical sheets and find out about the services accompanying the “product” very carefully. N.B.: my comments are entirely personal, so needless to say the producer has the last word.
I have adopted the typical data sheet format, found on the Web, and then added the functional data and some theory (not to worry, this theory is the result of practice) to discover the enormous operational potential inherent in even the simplest of equipment.

::: The ten commandments
Before looking at each item in detail, I feel a sort of decalogue (ten basic rules) is needed when using any equipment capable of distributing future biocides, i.e. medical devices (MD).

1: user instructions
Consistent with safety guidelines, the instruction booklet must be read. This is not a legal document, such as the Law Decree concerning MDs, but is a technical document that all operators must read before using the equipment.
Otherwise, how can he prove that he has been properly informed and trained in the unhappy event of an accident?

2: performance
After studying the characteristics of the equipment, technicians should practice using the equipment. The parameters here are the speed, the flow-rate (i.e. how much product is dispensed per unit of time) and the physicalchemical characteristics of the micro drop.

3: crawling insects and backpack pumps
The simplest example is the use of a backpack pump. Deceptively simple equipment, but with great potential. When dealing with crawling insects, it is difficult to apply a dose expressed as 10 litres/100m2: it is easier if we translate this into 100 ml/m2 (test it and see: an obvious water film appears on the surface).
If, on the other hand, the recommended dose is 10 litres/200m2 , then this becomes 50 ml/ m2 (the surface is barely moist: this dose is particularly well suited for vertical surfaces).
A trivial consideration you may say, but if we use 10 litres/200m2 then we will get the same amount of MD/m2 if we double the concentration used compared to 10 litres/100m2.

4: flying insects, disinfection and backpack pumps
Again using a backpack sprayer and a dose of 10 litres/200m2 but this time setting the nozzle to a minimum, thus delivering a wide cone of spray at almost max pressure (more than 4 bars in any case), we can treat about 600m3 of ambient air, i.e. with a concentration per cubic metre of just over 16 ml/m3. Some 80% of this will settle on surfaces within a few minutes, while 20% will remain suspended in the air for a couple of hours (the smaller invisible droplets). This ensures good disinfection of both the horizontal surfaces and the ambient air (ambient air dose of about 3 ppm).

5: equipment and MDs
If we look at the example above, it appears that to be effective a dose of 3 ml/m3 must have a relatively high number of micro-droplets per cubic metre (obtained by adjusting the nozzle to a minimum and so increasing the pressure), but also by choosing the right MD. The information can be found on the label, the safety sheet and the technical data sheets authorised by the Ministry of Health. Other sources are specialist publications and the literature, provided these do not conflict with the official sources. We must never underestimate the value of a technical resource like hand-operated equipment: after all, if properly used, such equipment can disinfect 600m3 in less than 10 minutes (60m3/ minute).

6: when great power comes into play
The above information for backpack pumps also applies to sprayers! The more powerful these are, the bigger the (potentially exponential) impact of even the slightest errors. If a sprayer is travelling at 8 km/h and covers an area 10m wide and 12m high, any error in the % used or, even worse, an inappropriate MD will affect 960,000m3 per hour. If a tree-lined avenue or park is being treated, an error could result in phytotoxicity. If there is a mistake in setting the supply pressure and/or flow-rate and/or particle size, there will be a good chance of uncalculated and “always” dangerous spray drift and/or environmental pollution and/or unwanted dripping and/or poor effectiveness. In other words: throwing money to the wind.

7: environmental constraints
Obvious, but often not considered as such: always make sure you have all the necessary permits before starting any job.

8: specific constraints
Equally important, you should check that the environmental conditions meet the required working conditions: no wind, signs indicating work in progress, no access to the public and the need to close all windows, no animals, no edible crops, safety hours and favourable weather forecasts.

9: equipment testing
The equipment must be checked to ensure proper operation (hoses, straps and nozzles first and foremost). In addition, all maintenance instructions must be read and complied with.

10: possibly the most important of all
Given that the above points are of a general nature and by no means exhaustive, I would stress that all procedures and instructions should be checked before starting. Moreover, it would be a good idea to keep a “common sense file”.

 

Now, unless I am mistaken, the B819 MASTER has an hourly output of air that can be compared to a building some 30m wide, 30m deep and 50m high: a 16-fl oor skyscraper in other words! And that’s not all: the output speed of the fluid is 100 m/s or 360 km/h. Just to get an immediate idea. Now let’s consider the sprayer from a functional point of view.
If we consider the actual mean range (75m horizontally and 50m vertically, i.e., by tilting the “gun” we can treat 37.5 million (thirtyseven million five hundred thousand) cubic metres per hour when working at a speed of 10 km/h.
Guaranteeing unique range, this machine is regularly proposed and comes in various versions, such as that for suppressing dust. In fact, French steelworks use the B819 Master to distribute a “binding” product on their deposits of carbon coke to avoid the risk of substantial air-borne dispersion of the dust by the Mistral wind, which blows constantly in the South of France. Such great amounts of power bring to mind something Manzoni once said: “Pedro, adelante con juicio” [Pedro, be quick, but be careful].
One last suggestion: check out the legendary Bora when visiting the Martignani website (www.martignani.com): still futuristic after all these years.

 

I would draw attention to the fact that, by starting with a pre-loaded tank and having a second one available that can be loaded to suit specific previously unknown requirements, this sprayer is ideal for “disinfesting”.
By processing the manufacturer’s technical data, we see that the sprayer’s potential capacity is considerable: 5,000,000 m³/h at 10 km/h: not bad when you consider that it sits on the back of a slim, cheap vehicle.
Of course, the product range developed by Guizzardi (www.tifone.com ) is vast and the company offers many before - and after - sales services too. What I find particularly interesting is the use of spray mists to suppress dust, a modern problem and an application I agree with totally in principle. In fact, I recall that years ago I once used a Nebulo filled with water to stop the air-borne spores of Aspergillus niger spreading from a polluted neighbouring area. Perfect disinfection results, since the horizontal surfaces were treated with a solution of highly concentrated quaternary ammonia.

 

The equipment featured on the Gianni Bergamini website (www.sprayteam.it) is very interesting and has many uses. I personally find it has no rivals when treating areas infested by Tribolium spp. It allows for Low and Ultra Low applications with 12 - 20 micron micelles, so high penetration. In addition to this key feature, the jet can also be “targeted”. Poor results are unlikely, provided this equipment is used properly and with the right MD. I recommend having a look at the BOXER range in the catalogue: this has a 17 - 132 hp power range. What more could you want?

 

From the world of super equipment to manual tools.
Capri 2003 is, however, indispensable and well designed. Withstands a working pressure of up 6 bar, which is high (the safety valve trips if the pressure rises beyond this).
It has an adjustable nozzle, meaning effective combined disinfecting: close the nozzle to get a wide cone (small droplets/low fl ow-rate) keeping the tank pressurised or open the nozzle to narrow the cone and so target the jet without noticeable drift. An unbelievably broad spectrum of action for a “humble backpack pump”.
More info: www.zapiexpert.it.

::: Conclusion
By interpreting a few freely available technical sheets I wanted to stress how all technical data have a practical parallel when it comes to our work. Such sheets do not contain only engineering data. We reach our goals thanks to the equipment and products we use. Knowing every detail of their possible fields of application is increasingly necessary: consider all those nanotechnologies just around the corner.

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