Use of hydrocarbon solvents in Industrial Cleaning
Solvents play a major role in industrial cleaning and they fall under three major categories, they are :-
- Oxygenated solvents
- Hydrocarbons
- Halogenated solvents
Oxygenated solvents are high in purity eg. Alcohol,glycol ether and ketones.
Hydrocarbons cover the widest range of cleaning products, which starts from domestic use to industrial cleaning. Hydrocarbons have complex formulation and come with varying flash points,color, aromatic content etc. Eg. Benzene, petroleum ether and turpentine.
Halogenated solvents are derived by chlorinating hydrocarbons, in addition to the basic properties of hydrocarbons they possess strong odor. They are highly effective solvents but their chlorinated formulation poses risk in safety.Few examples are chlorobenzene,trichloroethylene and dichloromethane.
When industrial cleaning sessions do not support aqueous cleaning, chemical cleaning is the best option,when focusing on performance and safety, hydrocarbons rule over other solvents.
Scoring areas of hydrocarbons :
Degreasing ability of hydrocarbons is high and are able to handle high levels of oil.
Delivering results that need no monitoring; as there are set standards for hydrocarbon solvents they perform to it and uncertainty in cleaning never prevails and cleaning is complete.
Hydrocarbon solvents leave machine parts completely dry, be it passages or blind holes. This is a much desired feature that keeps you free from worries due to moisture being left behind and nil cost involved in getting rid of it.
Hydrocarbon solvents raise no incompatible issues and leave no way for discoloration or scorching,
Heating the cleaning hydrocarbon solvent does not require much energy and there is no shouldering of disposal responsibility.
In addition to cleaning they also protect the machine parts from corrosion.
Aromatic content is very low and creates a safe and comfortable working environment,without posing health problems. Exxsol D80, Exxsol D60, Isopar series like Isopar L, Isopar H etc. are excellent industrial cleaners.
Pinning down a solvent to be the most advantageous would work for an industry but for the other it would not be that effective. Best judgments are made upon putting them to work for you.
