Trial Purpose:
The purpose of this experiment was to determine the effectiveness of alternatives in removing company soil from stainless steel substrates.
Date Run:
07/13/2021Experiment Procedure:
Cleaners were prepared to the following concentrations: Citranox 2%, Mirachem 500 20%, Water Works Heavy Duty Degreaser 7:1, SC Aircraft & Metal Cleaner 20%, Aquaease 732 5%, Aquavantage 3800 GD 5%. Three stainless steel coupons were obtained and weighed for each of the cleaners being tested. Coupons were then soiled with oil provided by the company and a dirty weight was recorded. Coupons were then submerged into their respective cleaners for 15 minutes at room temperature. After 15 minutes had passed, coupons were allowed to dry in air for 24 hours. Following the drying period, coupons were weighed again 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 |
| Citranox | 0.1868 | 0.0161 | 91.38 | 85.57 |
| 0.1442 | 0.0307 | 78.71 | ||
| 0.1195 | 0.0160 | 86.61 | ||
| Mirachem 500 | 0.1553 | 0.0184 | 88.15 | 85.90 |
| 0.1495 | 0.0189 | 87.36 | ||
| 0.1180 | 0.0210 | 82.20 | ||
| Water Works Heavy Duty Degreaser | 0.0964 | 0.0130 | 86.51 | 90.27 |
| 0.1454 | 0.0127 | 91.27 | ||
| 0.1422 | 0.0099 | 93.04 | ||
| SC Aircraft & Metal Cleaner | 0.0319 | 0.0165 | 48.28 | 45.96 |
| 0.0215 | 0.0109 | 49.30 | ||
| 0.0201 | 0.0120 | 40.30 | ||
| Aquaease 732 | 0.0297 | 0.0217 | 26.94 | 69.65 |
| 0.1372 | 0.0156 | 88.63 | ||
| 0.1998 | 0.0132 | 93.39 | ||
| Aquavantage 3800 GD | 0.2016 | 0.0084 | 95.83 | 95.54 |
| 0.2144 | 0.0056 | 97.39 | ||
| 0.1666 | 0.0110 | 93.40 |
Aquavantage 3800 GD was the most effective cleaner in removing company soil from stainless steel substrates, removing an average of 95.54%. Water Works was the second most effective removing an average of 90.27%. However, all coupons still possess a residue of oil following the cleaning process. This residue could potentially be eliminated by heated immersion, or by adding a rinse step to unheated immersion. Additionally, it was observed that when coating the metal substrates, the soil would diffuse across the entire surface resulting in many coupons with soil outside of the cleaning area. Next steps would be to progress all cleaners to heated immersion.
Success Rating:
Results successful using TACT (time, agitation, concentration, and temperature, as well as rinsing and drying) and/or other cleaning chemistries examined.Conclusion:
Aquavantage 3800 GD was the most effective cleaner removing an average of 95.45% oil from stainless steel substrates followed closely by Water Works Heavy Duty Degreaser removing an average of 90.27%. All cleaners still possessed a residue of oil following the cleaning process. Next steps would be to progress all cleaners to heated immersion trials to improve removal results and potentially eliminate the post cleaning residue.
