Document GYREB9MnVNxO5NDb7Ogmr87q

OUP030001308  beadl es . FOBS!? KALB . BREQER o DE WALL . ACKLEY . BYROM WSMSNOSQHW2M2NGTON w iimin o t o n wmmmm Ch ic a g o TUCKER SOo SAN FRANCISCO No 1. DRESS r Bo B0 DUBFEE - tig - Ho L0 PB2D0Y - Ho R. STINE - Jo Fo m mvsww ~ PHILADELPHIA EVERETT MARSHALL LAB. FORT MADISON TOLEDO FLINT PARLSN . I Eo Xo Df PONT DE NEMOURS & CO., 2HC0 FABRICS AND FINISHES DEPARTMENT f f in is h es d iv is io n u^'s*'"Of'!T . mar s h al l l abo r at o r y LIBRARY BBmm copy HOI FOR CIRCULATION PABLIN PLAN? LABORATORY REPORT NO. 29 FURTOXL ALCOHOL DETERGENTS FOR CLEANING CONTAINERS AND EQUIPMENT USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ACRYLIC ENAMELS DATE ISSUED? MAT 15* XSSI PROJECT NO? JL-1014 PREPARED Eft APPROVED BPS ~7 DUP030001309 SUBJECT 8 FOEFURYL ALCOHOL BETEHQEOTS FOR CLEANING CONTAINERS Bee&us of the Du Posit Compaq policy of extended use of reconditioned drums and the rapid demands for acrylic type finishes, the need for an effective cleaner for equipment and containers is apparent. During the past two years, the cost of a reconditioned drum has increased from $1.15 to $3*15* The majority of this increase was attributed to the difficulty experienced fey the recohiltioner in cleaning Automotive "Lucite" drums. Experience to date has shown the quality of the reconditioner to fee poor as evidenced fey several Auto motive complaints on contamination being a result of dirty reconditioned drums. It was believed that with a more efficient cleaning system the reconditioning cost might be substantially reduced and the quality of the drums improved. Of equal importance is the need for a fast and efficient cleaning of equipment to meet production requirements and prevent contamination. Consideration must also be given to the cleaning of application equipment. For cleaning of this type, it would be desirable to have high flash point material as an added safety precaution. OBJECTIVES 1. To evaluate existing solvents, detergents and strippers as a cleaner for acryli* finishes currently used in Automotive, metal strip coating and wire enamel industries, trade. 2. investigate the different cleaning prooesees used in the 3* Conduct practical tests of most promising candidates designed to simulate drum reconditioning systems. SOMMAHg AND COBCL1B31DKS8 (1) laboratory tests substantiated by practical testa con ducted at the Bayonne Barrel and Drum Co,, show that the beat all-around cleaner for reconditioning "Lucifce" drums is a composition consisting of 40# Furfuryl Alcohol, 1C# Tri-Sodium phosphate and 50# city water. The outstanding merits of this solution ares 1. Excellent solvent for "Incite" which can be diluted with water and still retain sufficient solvent action. 2. Low toxicity which with proper handling presents no unusual hazards. 3. The relatively high open flash point of 168*?. lends itself to. industrial handling. DUP030001310 Th@ disadvantages to the use of Furfuxyl Alcohol ares 1. The chief objection is the cost of approximately 93^/gal. Compared to the straight caustic solution normally used by conditioners, this represents a substantial increase of 874 per drum* on the other hand* the furfuryl cleaner is cheaper by far than any of the etnpper-type detergents offered by the general trade which range in price from $2.50-45.00 per gallon. 2. FUrfuryl Alcohol reacts with strong acids so that pre cautions must be taken to avoid contact of such mater ials with the alcohol. Equipment Cleaner Favorable laboratory results have been obtained from tests designed to clean equipment and tote tank cleaning procedures with a solvent blend formulated as follows < Furfuryl Alcohol Methylene Chloride Xylene 20.q 20.0 60.0 The advantage offered by this composition is that it provides the optimum in general cleaning efficiency with a fairly safe flash point. The composition removes the finish by lifting so that the cleaner can be filtered or allowed to settle and reused. The most efficient method of cleaning the tote tanks is by Jet spray. Sts disadvantage is that an increase in methylene chloride content is frequently necessary for different type finishes. This Is advisable in order to Improve the general efficiency of the cleaner. PsacggsBowg In order to obtain some knowledge regarding the effectiveness of the common solvents in removing baked "Lucite" type finishes, a test was devised to evaluate this characteristic. The solvent, together with the results, appear in the following tabulations * DUP030001311 r.-.i-s-.-diSfci.fe.- vr 9 oi fills | f^s* & s a a g a s? n 3 9 I 19 9 fH H rf H HH * ISA II !$ 8 R S S - S a a - >'9. $j S > g 8 |i|Hi I 3 i B . g 3 SJ * *. . * a os a o O O O O O O OP o a a- oo &f f,, :-) lf> VE> Ot S 8 a 3> SR I | |i l *: '* a f* e ifiSf I3 ,,* 1 IB IS IS s a I Is 3 la ? f41 W if W ?- tow5 Tps- . MS) 6R8C K*T Ri 'Kf mw DUP030001312 A review of the results show that the most effective solvents for removing "mite" are methylene chlorine, ethylene chloride and : )acetone. Because of the expense, toxicity or low flash point, these solvents are unsuitable for production scale drm reconditioning. Evaluation of Detergents used by Becondltioners on "Incite" Drums Several detergents used by local dnm reconditioners were evaluated in the laboratory for general cleaning efficiency. It was found that usually the cleaners represented one of two distinct com* positions, that is, they were either the chlorinated solvent or cresylic acid type. The chlorinated type is quite efficient but its use cannot be justified against the cost. The cresylic acid type cleaners did not appear to be very efficient since it was necessary to maintain a temper* ature of 180F. m order to obtain any positive cleaning action. Furtheiwore, cresylic acid possesses a strong pungent odor and is corrosive St is extremely doubtful if a reconditioner would consider the cresylic acid type cleaners for these reasons. Furfuryl Alcohol Cleaners Certain drum reconditioners on the Vest Coast were reported to be experiencing favorable results by the use of .furfuryl alcohol in combination with water and caustic. Acting on thla lead, a considerable amount of laboratory work was undertaken in order to completely evaluate the merits of furfuryl alcohol, laboratory findings showed that the most efficient and economical formulations were essentially as follower He. i Furfuryl Alcohol hO,p Tap Water 55.0 Caustic Solution 5.0 m* g Furfuryl Alcohol Water m m The Ho. 1 formulation was further tested by actually attempting to clean dirty returned "incite" drums. The standard procedure adopted was to place six bronse chains and two gallons of cleaner formulation into a drum. The drum was then placed on a slow drum roller 3 BBS per minute) and rolled approximately 25 minutes. In the initial tests, the drums were examined at 10 minute intervals* to observe for gassing, solvent action, etc. For control purposes, a straight 7% caustic solution was used on both regular and metallic "incite" drums. Testing of the caustic and metallic had to be discontinued after 1 minute because of extreme gassing which caused the drum to bulge. Examination of the drum cleaned with the Ho. 2 furfuryl alcohol cleaner did not reveal any appreciable evidence of real effective cleaning, action, although the "Incite" did appear to be"pot cheesy" in film in tegrity* The drums were then flushed with water by means of a hose.' This action completely removed the "Incite" and left the drum mils very clean. The straight caustic cleaning solution was found to cause a direct % opposite effect in that the "incite" became extremely hard and tough ^and obviously could not be removed by a water wash. This observation proved to be a very important factor in successful reconditioning of "Incite" drums in that it lead to the replacement of caustic with trisodium phosphate for use with furfuryl alcohol. The use of trt-sodlum phosphate renders the "Incite" soft and fluffy so that it can be easily removed by rinsing. DUP030001313  -5* On the basis oflaboratory findings, the Mo. 8 furfuryl x alcohol cleaner, bolstered with tri-sodium phosphate, seemed far superior to other types tested to date. Although the cost per gallon would be approximately 9<, the product possessed many desirable features such as, ease of formulation, practically no hazard from toxicity and a reasonably safe flash point. 2n view of the possible results obtained, with drums, it was decided to conduct a practical test at the Bayonne Barrel & Drum Company at Wewark, M. J. This was done by charging 100-gallons of solution into a 850-gallon detergent tank as follows. First Portion City Water *52 lbs Tri-$odium phosphate 90 " Dissolve with heat 110-130^. Second Portion ihutfuryl Alcohol 361 lbs! "1&3 lbs Increase temperature to 1*0-160*7'. The tank is equipped with three revolving nozzles and will accommodate three drums per cycle. The "Luclte" drums are inserted on end so that the nozzle extends into the drum through the end bung opening. The hot cleaning solution is sprayed into the drum for one minute at about *0 lbs. pressure at a temperature of 140160*P,, Examination Ofa number pf drums before and after the cleaning operation showed the furfuryl solution to be very Effective in removing the "incite", In most instances, all of the "incite" was removed. Following the Jet spray cleaning, the drums were continued through the Bayonne cleaning schedule as followss 1. Caustic chaining - *0 mins, total - three positions 8. Caustic flushing - % solution 3. Water rinsing - drying *. Inspection Inspection of the drums showed that in most oases the drum interiors were very bright and that the rejections were largely due to Spot contamination or dirty chimes. The spots were usually confined to local areas and appeared to be due' to caustic staining resulting from the rinsing operation. The amount of dirt in the chime in most cases was relatively small and situated in an area difficult to remove by a single chaining . s The inspection performed by Bayonne appeared to be very 1 critical, comparable in this respect to that used by parlin. As recommended, the inspection was made through the side bung. Rejected drums were candidates for rechaining. DUP030001314 In discussing the cleaning problem tilth Bayonne personnel , - they considered the furfuxyl to b very efficient in removing the "Lucite". it was the consensus that failure to completely remove the "Lueite" from the drum chime was largely due to the age of the dirty drum prior to reconditioning. In many instances, it was believed that the dirty chime was the result of poor previous reconditioning so that the material had become hard and insoluble. Ho apparent difficulty is generally experienced with drums that have been cleaned for the first time. On further discussing the results of the first practical test with Bayonne personnel, considerable concern was expressed over the low percentage (29) of drums that passed inspection. For satisfactory drum cleaning, a minimum of.80# is expected. Bayonne contended that inspection adopted is too critical and highly impractical. On the basis of the test performance, the following changes in the reconditioning process were recommended * 1. Replace sodium hydroxide (caustic) with tri-sodium phosphate in the chaining and rinsing operation. 2 . increase the chaining time in the 45* angle position and, if necessary, reduce the time in the horizontal position. 3 Consider the possibility of using the furfuryl alcohol 1 cleaning for the chaining operation In addition to the pre-drum cleaning. 4. Limit the cleaning of "Incite." drums to a single day operation rather than intermixing "Luolte" drum cleaning in regular production line methods. It was reported that Flint was enjoying good success with reconditioned "Lucite" drums . She reconditioner was the American Barrel Company of Detroit. To compare the Gleaning procedure and the quality of the drums, a visit was made to Detroit and Flint to conduct an evaluation. Investigation disclosed the fact that quality-wise, the drums reconditioned by American Barrel have tout a slight edge over those cleaned by Bayonne. This slight improvement can be attributed to the fact that American Barrel re-ehalns the drums as many as three times. In practically every instance, rejection is due to dirty chimes. Flint examines every drum prior to use, maintaining a fairly stringent in spection for "Lucite" drums. However, Flint is in a good position with regard to drums rejected for "Lucite", in that they can be used for undercoats. Because of this, they have very fee totally unusable drums that are returned to the recondltioner. The cleaning solution used by the American Barrel is ode which . they developed. They claim that the success, of their cleaning depends J entirely on the composition of the cleaner. They contend that the investment required to develop the cleaner was fairly large and they propose to sell it to other reoondltioners. In fact, they would like to Interest the Du Font Company in the purchase of this material for sales purposes. Since they would not divulge the composition nor provide a sample, the general efficiency could not be evaluated. DUP030001315 7 As a matter of general interest the drum reconditioning v ) processes used by the American and Bayonne Barrel Companies are outlined as followsg Operations American Barrel Co.,Detroit jgCoyBayofeg&e 1 Flush drums with American Flush drums with Furfuryl Alcohol Barrel cleaning solution* fcrisodiuat phosphate 4 mins* at 10 mins., at 180?, - 180F. ,Intermittent Jet nozzle intermittent let nozzle spray cleaning. flushing. 2 Chain drums 20 mins, with Chain drums with slight amount of acbhoaviness-olul8toionF. * 40 lbs* tempera* ture controlled by gas cleaning solution - 2 os. tri- Sodium phosphate added. Chained 0 mins, temperature not con Jets directed on bottom trolled 50 lbs. chain. chime. 3 Brums drained Drums drained 4 Drums flushed with caustic Drums flushed with tri-sedima phosphate 180F. 5 Hot water wash. Hot water wash. 6 Drums dried by gas flame Drums dried by warm air 150-180F. directed on drum while rotating. i 7 Inspection of drum - re inspected - does not want to jected send thru chaining process 1-4 times. reichaln . The reconditioning system presently employed by Bayonne Barrel is that outlined above. Aside from the cost factor* Bayonne is well satisfied with the general performance. The expense* of course* is due to the initial cost of furfuryl. Active attempts are being made to salvage the furfuryl alcohol. Bayonne Barrel is considering the use of furfuryl for all drum cleaning providing they can revise the present system to a more efficient basis. As of May 10* 1961* Bayonne Barrel & Drum has increased the efficiency of the above furfuryl alcohol cleaning system to 9#. m&essaui There are many conditions where the furfuryl alcohol dm cleaner can be effectively employed to strip equipment and tote tanks. However* the conditions are usually limited to direct contact or by submerging. The reason being that the furfuryl alcohol mixture does not provide vapor cleaning properties. For tote tank and mixer cleaning* the following composition appears most effectives furfuryl Alcohol Methylene Chloride Xylene 20,056 20.0 EOfftW DUP030001316 ______ - -8 laboratory testa show that this composition Jet sprayed and rc-circulated in a cloeed container, is very effective as a stripper for "Du Xu j i", KLucit,s, eto. By varying the methylene chloride content; the effectiveness can be controlled to remove most types of formulas. When used in conjunction with a satisfactory filtering system, the detergent can probably be reused several times for satisfactory cleaning. Large scale practical or field tests have not been made with this stripper. Precautions for Handling furfuryl Alcohol Furfuryl alcohol has a low vapor pressure (0*5 mm at 70 TP.) * hence it Is difficult to build up a high vapor concentration in the air at room temperature. It is Important that individuals working with furfuyyl alcohol observe precautions ctamaonly practiced in working with other chemicals, such as, butyl eellosolvs, di-a-propyl ketone and dlpropylene glycol mono-methyl ether (Dowanol 50-B). Such normal precautions ares 1. Avoid prolonged or repeated contact with skin and clothe ing and wash the skin promptly with soap and water when it is contacted. 2. Wear^protective gloves or clothing when spillage is a 3. In case of oontact with eyes, immediately flush with plenty of water, and obtain medical attention. 4. provide adequate ventilation in areas where furfuryl alcohol will be handled. 2n the presence of concentrated mineral aside or strong organic acids, furfuryl alcohol resets with explosive violencei hence, precaution must be exereised to prevent the contact of furfuryl alcohol and strong seids, except under controlled Conditions. Actually, an acid catalyst is used in rsslnifieation of furfuryl alcohol and millions of pounds of furfuryl alcohol resins are made in this manner every year, demonstrating again that the proper handling poses no problem and that the danger exists only when the material is misused.. * Physiological Bata Th Quaker Oats Company reports that furfuryl alcohol shows no tendency to produce irritation and sensitisation of the skin. M support of this, complete physiological " report has been submitted for our information. ROIsnk 5/3/61 DUP030001317 TENTATIVE SPECIFICATIONS FOR RECONDITIONED METAL DRUMS ________ TIGHT HEAT DRUMS - FINISHES Prior Usagej Drums that have been in service for shipment of solvent, plasticizer, paint, varnish or lacquer are required. Drums previously containing lubricating grease or edible oils are specifically excluded. Dimensions: In accordance with applicable Metal Drum Specifica tion. Height shall not vary more than + 1/2" in any one shipment. Gauge: In accordance with applicable Metal Drum Specifica tion. Hoops; Shall conform to original contour. No sharp dents permitted. Chimes*. Shall be rolled to original contour and tight. Heads; Smooth, free of dents and conforming to original contours. Location of Fittings; In accordance with applicable Metal Drum Specification. Plugs; Tri Sure or Rieke - Shall be cleaned, free of worn or damaged threads, equipped with new gaskets in accordance with applicable Metal Drum Specification, capable of providing a leak-proof closure. Die cast plugs unless otherwise specified. No coating per mitted. Flanges; Tri Sure or Rieke - Shall be free of worn or damaged threads. Threads shall be clean and face of flange shall be smooth, capable of providing a leak-proof closure, Body; Cylindrical, slight dents not more than 1/4" in depth nor 3" in diameter, shall not exceed 6 in number, provided the overall effect does not detract from the appearance. Welds: No welding permitted within 3" of chime or fitting. Leaks*. All drums shall be structurally sound and free of leaks. (To be tested with air at 3 to 8 pTsTTH partly submerged). DUP030001318 Finish: INTERIOR 2~ 1. Shell - Clean and shiny, free from heavy red, rough rust. Paint flakes, skins or chips are not per mitted . Red, blue and green paint staining not allowed!. Exceptions: A* BE?.!, .Stains Slight rust stains are permitted providing the chimes are clean and there are no more than 2-6" stained areas. DUP030001319 Exceptions (Contd.) .-3B. Paint stains; / I l f One area as shown allowed in any one drum if stain is very thin. No red, blue or green stains allowed. ! 2. Chime: Red, blue and green paint in chime is not permitted. Exception;- Paint allowed in any one chime but not to exceed 1/4 inch. DUP030001320 -4- 3, Heads: Clean and shiny, no evidence of red, bine or green paint stains or drippings. Exception: If chime and shell is clean then staining on head 2 inches in area allowed. EXTERIOR 1 - gaskets: Completely free of rust and foreign material, To be painted in accordance with applicable Metal Drum specification after cleaning and blasting. New gasket shall be provided in conformance with applicable Metal Drum specification. Plugs shall be tightened to prevent breathing in storage. 2 - General: The recommended drum must, in general, have the same appearance as a new drum. Conformance with speci fications will be determined by inspection of drums as received. 3 - Testing: Internal cleanliness may be checked by purchase, by solvent washing drum walls and testing purity of the solvent or by other methods as found necessary to Safeguard product purity. 1/12/61 MCN DUP030001321