Trial Purpose:
To evaluate the effectiveness of SB-27 (t-Butyl Acetate 70% (CAS No: 540-88-5) + Benzyl Alcohol 30% (CAS No: 100-51-6)) in removing different soils from stainless steel coupons with a heated ultrasonic cleaning method as a potential replacement of TCE.
Experiment Procedure:
Three stainless steel coupons were used for each cleaner and soil combination, making a total of fifteen coupons. The initial weights of each coupon were recorded. A thin layer of each contaminant was added to the bottom third of the coupon with a swab, and the dirty weights of each coupon were recorded. The coupons were then subjected to heated ultrasonics in the cleaner for 15 minutes at a temperature of 120 °F. After the coupons were cleaned, they were left to air dry overnight, and clean weights of each coupon were taken the following day.
Trial Results:
| Contaminant | Initial weight of content | Final weight of content | Percent Content Removed | Average Percent Removal |
| Mobil DTE Light Oil | 0.0144 | 0.0048 | 66.67 | 66 |
| 0.0127 | 0.0049 | 61.42 | ||
| 0.0142 | 0.0043 | 69.72 | ||
| Strawman Cutting Oil | 0.0212 | 0.0046 | 78.30 | 74 |
| 0.016 | 0.0048 | 70 | ||
| 0.0171 | 0.0042 | 75.44 | ||
| Lenox Synthetic Lubricant | 0.0062 | 0.0007 | 88.71 | 75 |
| 0.0201 | 0.0052 | 74.13 | ||
| 0.0135 | 0.0052 | 61.48 | ||
| Maintenance Soil | 0.0147 | 0.0039 | 73.47 | 68 |
| 0.0178 | 0.0063 | 64.61 | ||
| 0.0124 | 0.0044 | 64.52 | ||
| Drawell Thin Oil | 0.0173 | 0.0067 | 61.27 | 67 |
| 0.0177 | 0.005 | 71.75 | ||
| 0.0143 | 0.0047 | 67.13 |
Success Rating:
Results successful using TACT (time, agitation, concentration, and temperature, as well as rinsing and drying) and/or other cleaning chemistries examined.Conclusion:
The cleaner was not able to remove any of the contaminants. The one coupon that had less than 0.01g of soil did well, which could mean that SB-27 can remove extremely thin coatings of soil.
