Hermetically sealed solvent degreasing with Firbimatic SPA and Roll GmbH

For many years the use of organic solvents to remove contamination from metal parts has been considered the most efficient due to the advantages of repeatable high levels of surface cleanliness, the ability to remove a wide range of soils and reduced cycle times.

1999/13/EC The “Solvent Emissions Directive” and

The Solvent Emissions (England & Wales) Regulations 2004

However, strict new environmental legislation has rendered obsolete any traditional tank systems which rely upon parts being dipped into liquid or vapour.  Attempts at enclosing the process with double or multiple lidded configurations and abating emissions with replaceable carbon have proven to be unsuccessful - the newEuropean Standard,  EuroNorm Standard 12921/14 now limits residual chamber solvent concentration to 1gm/m3 prior to door release.

1990 saw the introduction of domestic legislation in Germany strictly limiting the emissions of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC’s) to atmosphere - restrictions which still exceed the requirements of EU, US and UK legislation.  Solvent Consumption in Germany reduced by 98% between 1990 and 2000.  

Solvents such as trichloroethylene, perchloroethylene, methylene chloride, modified alcohols including DOWCLENE* can consistently achieve surface levels of 3-5mg/m2.  The solvent is continuously purified within the PLC controlled distillation unit so contaminants are separated from the solvent and automatically transferred out to the Safetainer closed loop solvent management system when the preset concentration levels are reached.  Vacuum drying and ppm control of the working chamber via regenerable carbon units guarantee that all component parts are free from any solvent residues prior to removal.

Reduced emissions? 

With Firbimatic & Roll the guarantee is zero atmospheric emissions – advanced vacuum technology eliminates the need for exhaust stacks.

Whether small units with a working envelope of only 450mm x 300mm or very large scale units with many tonnes of solvent incorporated in the process, the results are the same: consistent levels of surface cleanliness with the absolute guarantee of long term compliance.

The advantages of solvent degreasing:

Low surface tension (typically 25-30 dynes/cm compared with 72 for water) means that liquid can enter (and exit) complex geometric component features such as fine threads and blind holes thereby flushing out contamination.

Solvents can generally accommodate a wide range of contaminants whereas aqueous detergents are usually “soil specific” and a variety of chemicals may be required to be effective in many manufacturing processes.

The separate distillation within an hermetically sealed solvent system ensures that both clean liquid and pure vapour are available for each cycle therefore maintaining consistent results.

The volatility of organic solvents ensures that thorough drying of metal component parts is both rapid and thorough.  Compare the latent heat of evaporation of water at 2280kj/kg with organic solvents at approximately 200-300kj/kg. 

By applying a vacuum to the process chamber and therefore reducing the boiling point, residual component heat will ensure instant vapourisation allowing up to 10 cleaning cycles per hour.  

Hermetically sealed solvent cleaning technology ensures that all contamination is isolated in the distillation unit, no longer are we disposing of vast amounts of “dirty solvent”.  Furthermore, with the “Safetainer” solvent transfer system (also available from Standard Industrial Systems) the machinery for the safe delivery and closed loop transfer of both new solvent and waste residues has been in place for many years.