Growing regulatory pressure on halogenated solvents including fluorinated solvents have prompted some manufacturers to convert to aqueous cleaning because of its presumably “greener” profile.

But is aqueous cleaning truly more sustainable? A holistic parts cleaning approach must take into account different factors such as energy/water consumption, recyclability, waste treatment/disposal, and chemical impact on the environment.

While traditional solvents are facing more stringent regulations, there are solvent alternatives whereby their usage in airtight/airless degreasers can set the benchmark for safety and sustainability. This is certainly the case for modified alcohol solvents.

Modified alcohols are chlorine-free, bromine-free and fluorine-free. They are NOT under the evaluation of the Toxic Substances Control Act. Their deployment in vacuum degreaser with built-in distillation units for recovering used solvent, coupled with chemical maintenance measures, can significantly reduce both solvent consumption and waste, thus lowering overall cleaning costs. There is also no additional energy requirement for drying metal parts nor water consumption in the process.

This paper will illustrate the practical case of E & J Parts Cleaning Inc., a contract cleaner from Waterbury, Connecticut. To meet customers’ ever higher precision cleaning requirements and to raise operational and sustainability performance, the cleaning specialist has converted from trichloroethylene in an open top machine to an airtight degreaser running on the pre-stabilized cleaning agent DOWCLENE™* 1621. Formulated based on modified alcohol and hydrocarbon, DOWCLENE™* 1621 effectively cleans off a wide range of contaminants, including chlorinated oils, in a process safe manner thanks to its monitoring and stabilization possibilities.

International Manufacturing Technology Show 2024

Sustainable Solvent Parts Cleaning - Is it possible?

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