The selection of which cleaning agent to apply, depends on the previous and the post processes. The most important facts for the decision making process are:
- Contamination on the parts from previous processes
- Required cleanliness results
- Maintenance and waste management cost
- Suitability for automated processes
- Environmental impact assessment
- Operating cost
Whether aqueous or solvent should be used in an application requires process development. Below is a decision matrix to determine in the first step what media to use for the initial degreasing step based upon the previous operations:
Obviously chlorinated solvents are close to be banned from the government, a long overdue process that has already happened in Europe since over 15 years to protect the employees and environment. Examples are TCE, PERC, nPB or any solvents with “fluorocarbons”, which have very high and volatile emissions. There is also no need to use those solvents anymore since the new environmentally friendly solvents can degrease and clean as good, if not better.
If environmentally friendly solvents can be used – and reused – then they yield a significant advantage over aqueous processes in terms of operating costs, efficiencies and environmental impact. This applies only to non-hazardous solvent processes that are operated under constant vacuum.
Aqueous cleaning and degreasing processes are better for the environment is a myth due to the operating costs and the vast amount of energy needed as well as the vast amount of contaminated waste-water, which in a lot of cases needs to be hauled away as hazardous waste.
In some applications aqueous solutions are needed though due to the previous process of operation or in case passivation is needed.
There is also a combination of solvent vacuum degreasing, aqueous degreasing and passivation possible, which can significantly increase the efficiency if automated machines are being applied that operate those processes completely without manual input.
The development of the cleaning and degreasing process is therefore the most important step prior to focus on one or the other technology.
JCOM can provide solutions for all of the above and is not bound to one technology. Whether it’s a standard or a customized cleaning process / machine. The independent in-house operated cleanliness laboratory can also evaluate quickly, if the process yields success meeting required cleanliness specifications.
