What is Precision Cleaning?
Precision cleaning can be described as the process of removing contaminants such as microscopic impurities, dust, dirt, fibers, oil, grease, solder flux, oxides, and various other residues. Businesses use solvents and aqueous solutions to combat these particles which can cause corrosion, short circuits in electronics, or damage the quality of the product.
In the United States, solvents are widely used in a variety of sectors. Solvents are used by the military, aerospace, medical device, electronics, and automotive industries to maintain a particular level of purity so that goods and materials retain their value as they proceed through additional manufacturing or are distributed to their final destination. Businesses ensure the quality and cleanliness of their goods in this way.
Ozone-depleting solvents are forbidden by the Montreal Protocol, forcing these businesses to find, test, and use new substitutes. Popular alternatives due to their environmentally sustainable chemical properties are fluorinated solvents or aqueous solvents, which are determined and managed by the EPA’s SNAP program- the authority governing the use of ozone-depleting substances to thwart damage to our climate.
Aqueous Cleaning
Industrial parts are immersed in water-based solutions that could include additional chemicals such as detergents, surfactants, emulsifiers, inhibitors, anti-foaming agents, or others. The water may also be treated to become acidic or alkaline rich, depending on the particles that need to be removed. Additionally, aqueous cleaning systems must also incorporate heat, movement, or pressure to effectively clean parts and materials.
Fluorinated Solvent Cleaning
Fluorinated solvents are utilized for highly important parts where a critical standard of sanitation is important prior to assembly or shipping, for example medical instruments and equipment. Due to their low surface tension property, fluorinated solutions penetrate and dissolve the contaminant while not affecting the surface of the object being cleaned; whether the object is made of metal, plastic, polyurethanes, or others.
Fluorinated solvents also have several benefits:
- Better evaporation rate than aqueous solutions
- Less energy required to clean
- Low ozone depletion potential (low ODP) and low global warming potential (low GWP) with new generation fluorinated solvents
How Do I Know Which Solvent To Choose?
Deciding between solvents or aqueous solutions should be determined by your particular cleanliness requirements and conform to regulations set by SNAP, as established by the EPA. The main reason for precision cleaning is to either prepare an item for further processing or to be shipped, which is very important in your businesses manufacturing process. When your products are not up to par with your cleanliness standards or doesn’t pass your quality checks, that could halt or delay the manufacturing process resulting in you losing time and money.
Yuji America offers many fluorinated solvents for your industrial usage, visit our website for more information!
