Ultra-low Volume - Ultra Low Volume Fogging Machines

Ultra Low Volume Fogging Machines

Ultra low volume (ULV) fogging machines are cold fogging machines that use large volumes of air at low pressures to transform liquid into droplets that are dispersed into the atmosphere. This type of fogging machine can produce extremely small droplets with diameters ranging from 1-150 µm. ULV machines are used for applying pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, sterilizers, and disinfectants amongst other chemicals. The size of the droplet is very important as each application has an optimal droplet size. The optimum droplet sizes are between 5 and 20 µm for flying insects, 20 to 40 µm for leaf nematodes and 30 to 50 µm for fungi. Low volume refers to the low volume of carrier fluid that is required with these types of machines. The droplets that are created are of such a small size that less carrier for the formulation is required to cover the required surface area. The best way to understand the concept of using less formulation to cover a larger surface area is to look at the mathematical side of the scenario. In the case where the diameter of a droplet is reduced to half its original size then the amount of droplets that can be formed from the same volume of formulation will increase eight fold. If the droplet diameter is reduced to 10 percent of its original size, then the amount of droplets that can be formed will increase a thousand fold. In this way the droplet diameter determines the amount of droplets that will form.