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Trial Number 10

Trial Purpose:

Summary of Findings

Date Run:

10/09/2001

Trial Results:

Phase 1 Laboratory Testing
The focus of the first project was to identify a replacement cleaner for toluene to remove wax. A total of sixteen products were evaluated using immersion cleaning. Through visual and gravimetric analysis, four cleaning products were found to be successful in removing the wax from the ceramic and glass substrates and are listed below in Table 1.

Table 1. Successful Wax Cleaning

Company Product Classification Efficiency
Envirosolutions Inc Bio T Max Natural Terpene 99.36
Solvent Kleene D Greeze 500 LO Hydrocarbon Solvent 76.16
Buckeye International Shopmaster RC Ester blend 87.89
Universal Photonics Uni Clear I D-limonene Terpene 100.01

Phase 2 Laboratory Testing
Having found a replacement for toluene in wax removal, the next step was to find alternative cleaners for the other contaminants used at the facility. The use of the first of the contaminants was as an adhesive to be used in place of the current wax. The last two contaminants were both polishing slurries used during the initial stages of manufacturing of the ceramic base materials.

Cyrstalbond 509
In an attempt to limit the amount of cleaning products, the successful wax cleaners were selected for evaluated for cleaning during this phase of testing. Only one of the cleaners was successful in removing the Crystalbond 509 adhesive. Shopmaster RC removed 94.83%. Additional products were also investigated for the removal of the Crystalbond 509. A total of twelve products were evaluated. Table 2 lists the successful cleaners for the 509 adhesive.

Company Product Classification Efficiency
Buckeye International Shopmaster RC Ester blend 94.83
DuPont DBE-4 Ester blend 99.61
Ecolink Inc. Safe Strip N-methyl pyrrolidone 98.97
Alconox Inc. Luminox Neutral Aqueous 97.49*

*Required 20 minutes additional cleaning time

Nalco Chemical Co Nalco 2350 Polishing Slurry
Again, an attempt was made to evaluate the successful cleaners from the previous trials for the next contaminant. None of the previous products were capable of removing a majority of the polishing slurry from the ceramic coupons. Several alkaline aqueous products were found to very effective in removing nearly all of the slurry with fifteen minutes of soaking at 120 F. Table 3 lists the effective products.
Table 3. Nalco Chemical Co Nalco 2350 Polishing Slurry Cleaning

Company Product Classification Efficiency
Innovative Organics Amberclean LC Alkaline Aqueous 99.72
International Products Micro 90 Alkaline Aqueous 99.38
LPS Industries LPS Precision Alkaline Aqueous 99.50
MacDermid ND 17 Alkaline Aqueous 99.62
Oakite Products Inproclean 3800 Alkaline Aqueous 99.36
US Polychemical Polyspray Jet790 xs Alkaline Aqueous 99.42
Amax Safety First Semi-aqueous Terpene 99.88

Saint Gobain Industrial Ceramics Water Based Alumina
The same seven cleaners were also effective in cleaning the second polishing slurry, removing over 94% of the alumina from the ceramic coupons in five minutes of cleaning. ND 17 and LPS were the most effective removing just over 97%. The results are listed in Table 4.
Table 4. Saint Gobain Industrial Ceramics Water Based Alumina Cleaning

Company Product Classification Efficiency
Innovative Organics Amberclean LC Alkaline Aqueous 94.50
International Products Micro 90 Alkaline Aqueous 94.11
LPS Industries LPS Precision Alkaline Aqueous 97.30
MacDermid ND 17 Alkaline Aqueous 97.31
Oakite Products Inproclean 3800 Alkaline Aqueous 94.24
US Polychemical Polyspray Jet790 xs Alkaline Aqueous 95.84
Amax Safety First Semi-aqueous Terpene 95.09

Phase 3 FTIR Analysis of Rejected Parts
The final project conducted at the lab was to determine the source of the contamination on rejected parts. The lab used Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometry in an attempt to identify the possible contaminants on the ceramic and gold pieces. Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy correlates vibrational energy to a compound's molecular signature. Similar to other high-tech methods such as GC (gas chromatography), the curves generated in this analytical technique are both quantitative for species identification (the placement of the curve on the electromagnetic spectrum) and qualitative for amounts (the area under the curve). Interpretation of graphs can be difficult due to the presence of interfering peaks.
It appears that several of the supplied contaminated parts did have some of the wax remaining on them after the toluene cleaning. In addition most of the parts had toluene residue as well. The FT-IR readings made by SCL should not be considered as a final determination as to the identification of the source of contamination. Comparisons are listed in Table 5.

Table 5. FTIR Analysis

Sample Source Observations-Comparison
1 A Toluene
2 A Toluene
3 B Toluene & IPA & maybe Wax
4 B Wax & Toluene
5 C Wax & IPA
6 C Wax & IPA
7 D Wax & Toluene
8 A Wax & Toluene

Vendor Contact Information
Company names, contact numbers and addresses are listed in Table 6.
Table 6. Contact Information for Successful Cleaning Chemistries

COMPANY CONTACT Number ADDRESS LOCATION STATE ZIP
Alconox Inc 1-212-532-4040 x60 9 East 40th Street New York NY 10016
Amax Corporation 1-800-662-0023 960 S. Third Street Louisville KT 40203
Buckeye International Inc 1-314-291-1900 2700 Wagner Place Maryland Heights MO 63043
DuPont Nylon 1-800-231-0998   Wilmington DE 19898
Ecolink Inc 1-800-886-8240 1481 Rock Mountain Blvd. Stone Mountain GA 30083
EnviroSolutions Inc 1-203-452-7225 232 Main Street Monroe CT 06468
Innovative Organics 1-714-701-3900 4790 East Wesley Drive Anaheim CA 92807
International Products Corp 1-609-386-8770 P.O. Box 70 Burlington NJ 08016
LPS Laboratories Inc 1-800-241-8334 101 Stagecoach Dr. Lancaster MA 01523
MacDermid Inc 1-203-575-5726 245 Freight Street Waterbury CT 06702
Oakite Products Inc 1-908-508-2107 50 Valley Road Berkeley Heights NJ 07922
Solvent Kleene Inc 1-978-531-2279 131 1/2 Lynnfield Street Peabody MA 01960
Universal Photonics 1-516-935-4000 495 West John Street Hicksville NY 11801
US Polychemical Corp 1-800-356-5530 584 Chestnut Ridge Road Chestnut Ridge NY 10977

Success Rating:

Final Report only.

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