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Trial Number 4

Trial Purpose:

The purpose of this experiment was to determine the effectiveness of cleaners in removing grind oil from stainless steel coupons via heated immersion at increased time.

Date Run:

11/18/2020

Experiment Procedure:

Cleaners were prepared to the following concentrations: Dimethyl glutarate 100%, SC Aircraft & Metal Cleaner 20%, SC Supersolve 20%, Crystal Simple Green Industrial Cleaner 30 parts water. Solutions were then heated to 100°F. Three stainless steel coupons were obtained and weighed for each of the cleaners being tested. Coupons were then soiled with grind oil provided by the company and a dirty weight was recorded. Once solutions reached the proper temperature, coupons were submerged into their respective cleaners for 30 minutes. After the 30 minutes had passed, coupons cleaned with SC Aircraft and SC Supersolve were placed into a deionized water bath at 100°F for 30 seconds. All coupons were then partially dried with a heat gun and allowed to finish drying in air. After the drying process, coupons were weighed and a clean weight was recorded. Effectiveness of the cleaners was determined.

Trial Results:

Cleaner Initial wt of cont Final wt of cont %Cont Removed %AVG
Dimethyl glutarate 0.0314 0.0062 80.25 80.80%
0.0231 0.0051 77.92
0.0203 0.0032 84.24
SC Aircraft & Metal 0.0205 0.0048 76.58 88.43%
0.0200 0.0052 74.00
0.0163 -0.0024 114.72
SC Supersolve 0.0153 0.0080 47.71 72.59%
0.0173 0.0070 59.54
0.0152 -0.0016 110.53
Crystal Simple Green 0.0140 0.0072 48.57 34.91%
0.0138 0.0135 2.17
0.0150 0.0069 54.00

SC Aircraft & Metal Cleaner was the most effective cleaner in removing grind oil from stainless steel with an average of 88.43%. Dimethyl glutarate was the second most effective with an average removal of 80.8%. Compared to the 15-minute heated immersion at 100°F, Dimethyl glutarate and SC Aircraft displayed overall improvement. There was so significant change in performance for SC Supersolve. However, Crystal Simple Green performed significantly worse.

During the cleaning process, solutions again developed a pale-yellow color indicating removal of the soil. Coupons cleaned with SC Aircraft and Crystal Simple Green were noted to have a small layer of oil residue forming where the substrate met the meniscus of solution. After the cleaning process, Dimethyl glutarate appeared clean with no oil residue left behind, only some solvent. Both SC Aircraft and SC Supersolve appeared mostly clean with very minimal oil residue left behind located at the top line of the cleaned area. Crystal Simple Green possessed a solution and oil residue mix all over the cleaned area. Following the drying process, Dimethyl glutarate appeared clean with most of the solvent evaporated that was originally left behind. SC Aircraft also appeared clean with slightly more solvent left behind. SC Supersolve still had solvent left on the coupons a minuscule amount of oil residue at the top portion of the cleaned area. Crystal Simple Green still possessed a heavy solvent and oil residue all over the cleaned area.

Cleaned weights were not obtained until 5 days after original testing. This could contribute to increased performance with more time for solvent to evaporate, or solvent residues could have potentially damaged substrates by remaining for too long. Heat for Dimethyl glutarate, SC Aircraft, and SC Supersolve should be increased to 120°F. Crystal Simple Green cannot go beyond 100°F per vendor instructions.

Success Rating:

Results successful using TACT (time, agitation, concentration, and temperature, as well as rinsing and drying) and/or other cleaning chemistries examined.

Conclusion:

Upon completion of testing, it was observed that 30 minutes of heated immersion at 100°F improved cleaning performance for Dimethyl Glutarate and SC Aircraft. However, all cleaners still require further optimization. Next steps would be to conduct heated immersion at 120°F for 30 minutes.

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