How to reduce costs through safer degreasing and cleaning products

The products used for aerospace degreasing applications are no different, and Silmid have partnered with Socomore to provide on demand access to next generation cleaning compounds for a variety of applications.

Selecting the right cleaning compound for your application can lead to a range of cost savings including:

• Reduced insurance premiums
  
• Lower product usage per job
  
• Reduced transportation and delivery costs
  
• Reduced cost of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

There are two main approaches a user can take to reduce the costs of general cleaning: selecting a product or method that emits lower VOCs or selecting a chemical with a higher flash point. We will look at both below.

Lowering Your VOC Emissions

VOC, an acronym for for Volatile Organic Compound, is any compound other than methane that contains carbon with a vapour pressure is above 10 Pascal at 20°C, according to the European Community (EC). VOC can be expressed as a percentage (weight of the VOC compared to total product weight) or in g/l (weight of VOC in grams contained in 1 litre of product).

VOC emissions have a direct impact on the environment as well as the health of operators, users and the general public. The European Union has adopted several directives aimed at reducing VOCs, including 1999/13/EC and 2001/81/EC, cascading down into local and national restrictions on production and maintenance sites.

To reduce VOC emissions, customers can look into products with a lower vapour pressure, lower VOC content, or lower evaporation rate.

Reduced Vapour Pressure and VOC Content

VOC emissions are worked out by multiplying the VOC rate with the amount of solvent used. Not all cleaning solvents contain 100% VOC content, and so switching to a lower VOC product will reduce your overall emissions. Alternatively, seeking a lower vapour pressure (below 10 Pascal) completely eliminates your VOC emissions.

Reduced Evaporation Rate

Even if a chemical is a 100% VOC, it may be safer than an alternative product due to its evaporation rate. This is the speed at which the product evaporates compared to butyl acetate and directly affects the amount of solvent needed to complete a task. A slower evaporation rate means less solvent is used, and therefore a lower VOC emission.

The below snapshot captures a number of traditional cleaning compounds, alongside some of the newer alternatives from Socomore.