Sprayer

A spray, flis, aerosol, spray, spray, atomizer, vaporizer or sprayer is a container where a liquid is stored, which has a device on top which allows this liquid to be expelled in vaporized form (reduced to very fine droplets). The ejection mechanism can be activated manually or by gas.

One of the uses can be observed in agricultural machinery, where it is used to carry out phytosanitary applications. It is also used to apply perfumes and cleaning products.

History

18th and 19th centuries

The concept of the sprayer originated in the 1790s, when self-pressurized carbonated drinks were introduced in France. In 1837, Perpigna invented a soda siphon, incorporating a valve into the beverage container. In 1862, metal sprayer cans were tested, constructed of steel and too heavy and bulky to be commercially successful. In 1899, inventors Helbling and Pertsch patented pressurized aerosols that used methyl chloride and ethyl chloride as propellants.

20th century

On November 23, 1927, Norwegian engineer Erik Rotheim patented an aerosol can with a valve. This was the precursor to the modern aerosol. In 1998, the Norwegian Post Office issued a postage stamp commemorating the invention of the aerosol.

World War II

In 1941, Americans Lyle Goodhue and William Sullivan, who were credited as the inventors of the modern sprayer. Mass production of aerosols took place in the United States during the 1940s. It was an insecticide called “insect bomb”, developed by Goodhue and Sullivan. Soldiers used it to combat insect diseases in the Pacific area during World War II. 50 million units were manufactured, and some of them found their way to the American market, after the war, as army surplus.

Other products

As a result of the great acceptance by the public, commercial companies began to look for ways to exploit this novel form of packaging. Insecticides, air fresheners, and hair sprays were the first products to reach the European market in the early 1950s. Later, unusual products appeared, often short-lived, such as coffee concentrates, chocolate or whiskey. Originally made from a stretched aluminum can, aerosols soon began to be manufactured as three-piece tin containers as well.

1970s and 1980s: chlorofluorocarbons and the ozone layer

In the late 1970s, a wave of environmental awareness captured the world's attention, following the publication of the Molina/Rowland report (see Mario José Molina and Sherwood Rowland) on the ozone layer. Aerosols became the priority target of legislators, the world press and consumer organizations, due to the role that chlorofluorocarbons (or CFCs), often used as propellants, were believed to play in the reduction of the top layer of ozone, despite its relatively minor contribution to the phenomenon^{[citation needed]}. The industry moved away from chlorofluorocarbons towards alternative propellants. “Chlorofluorocarbon-free” labeling was introduced in Europe. Since 1989, European consumer aerosols (except for some medical products, such as asthma inhalers) do not contain chlorofluorocarbons.