create fumes and there is the risk of
scalding, as well as corrosive injuries.
As Tom Sands, founder and CEO
of Safe Solvents, observes: “This is an
industry that hasn’t really changed in 30
or 40 years, and has always been reliant
on toxic hydrocarbon-based solvents or
heated machines that emulsify the waste.
Obviously, that waste has to be then
treated as a hazardous product, while
the cost of heating a large machine is
astronomical.”
DRIVERS FOR GREEN CLEANING
While there are a number of business
drivers pushing the use of more
environmentally-friendly solvents, such
as health and safety considerations and
operational costs, increasingly stringent
policy is also driving change.
Various environmental and air quality
legislation such as Registration, Evaluation
and Authorization of Chemicals (REACH)
and the Clean Air Act in the USA are
making it increasingly important for
manufacturers to reduce VOC emissions
from conventional solvents. Solvents are
also subject to a variety of regulations
concerning their storage and disposal, for
example.
In Europe, two VOC directives exist,
the Solvent Emission Directive and the
Products Directive that relates to speci c
materials like degreasants that contain
VOCs. The former establishes emission
limit values for 20 di erent categories of
installation that use solvents, including
maximum levels for ‘fugitive’ emissions
– degreasants lost from the process. In
some cases, these limits have imposed
emissions reductions that have prompted
industries to adopt substitute products
with a low solvent content or even
a switch to solvent-free production
processes.
Indeed, industries are more broadly
considering if solvent-based products
need to be used at all, or if they can be
replaced by an alternative, less hazardous
material, for example, based on water.
CLEANING – INDUSTRIAL DEGREASING
This new generation of industrial
degreasants is rapidly becoming accepted
by the industry in regions like North
America and Europe. For instance,
according to the recent Green & Biobased
Solvents report from Transparency
Market Research, the global eco solvents
market is expected to expand at a CAGR
of more than 7% through to 2023, when
the market will be worth over US$8 billion
annually.
Certainly, the traditional solvents
industry is also claiming to have made
signi cant progress in this regard. The
industry has led a process that has seen
a reduction of total VOC emissions in
the EU by more than 60% since 1990,
the European Solvents Industry Group
(ESIG) says, adding that, on average, half
as much solvent is used in manufacturing
today, compared to 1980 gures.
“The drivers behind the move toward
more environmentally-friendly cleaning
products include the need to improve
health and safety across the board.
People don’t want these chemicals, which
increase their insurance premiums and
create more risk. Safer workshops are a
big priority, reduction in VOCs backed by
legislation is another key driver for better
degreasing uids. People
prefer to use a cleaner,
safer product and create
safer sta environments,”
says Sands.
BETTER DEGREASING
The development of greener
and environmentally-friendly industrial
solvents that can perform as well as
existing products o ers companies
an opportunity to improve working
practices and reduce risks, cut costs for
transportation, storage and disposal,
as well as reducing emissions and their
carbon footprint. All these factors are
expected to see further emphasis at
both board and regulatory level in the
coming years. This trend is currently being
driven by the big players but is expected
to reach even smaller operations in the
coming years. Says Sands: “What we
are tending to nd at the moment is the
larger companies, like the larger SMEs
and the blue chips and the big OEM
manufacturers, they are already actively
looking for ways that they can reduce
risk, lead new legislation or improve their
working environment.”
He continues: “What we’re expecting
is that these medium and large
businesses will adopt rst and then
it will spread. For smaller entities the
degreasant choices at the moment is
probably made predominantly on price.
Traditional hydrocarbon products are
typically cheaper, but I think eventually all
industries and businesses will come into
line over the coming years as it becomes
increasingly unacceptable to use nasty
products, and the cost of using them and
disposing of them becomes much higher
from a legislative position.”
Although green degreasants may not
be suitable for every industry, managers
should consider their use of industrial
degreasants and select products with the
lowest possible VOC count and highest
ashpoint, for example.
Safe Solvents is one of a growing
number of companies producing
more sustainable solvents with
low VOC levels. Businesses
big and small are also starting
to adapt to change their view
on how their cleaning should
be done. As Sands concludes:
“A lot of companies are now
actively looking for more acceptable
cleaning solutions to replace the dated,
toxic material-based technology of old.
Awareness is growing that there are
products out there that can replace
these chemicals that people are used
to, and they can help reduce monthly
expenditure and other elements of risk in
the business. In this day and age, there is
just no reason why the chemicals you use
in the machines you use to clean can’t be
environmentally friendly.”
hjschneider/stock.adobe.com
June 2019 www.operationsengineer.org.uk 25
/stock.adobe.com
/www.operationsengineer.org.uk