Methylene Chloride Replacement
Health, Environmental, and Safety Benefits
The health, environmental, and safety benefits of replacing methylene chloride with GenTech™ include:
Not subject to NESHAP regulation
Not considered a carcinogen
Does not generate hazardous waste
Not regulated by the DOT
Is not an ozone depleting substance
Materials Compatibility and Cleaning Performance
In general, GenTech™ and methylene chloride are compatible with metals; however GenTech™ is more compatible with some of the white metals such as aluminum and titanium. If your company is degreasing white metals, GenTech™ will be a more compatible solvent for your application.
GenTech™ and methylene chloride can be aggressive on plastics and elastomers, and will affect these materials differently. See our Plastic Compatibility Chart to see if GenTech will work for your specific substrate.
GenTech™ is highly effective on a wide variety of typical industrial contaminants such as greases, oils, lubricants, coolants, waxes, flux residues, and other organic contaminants.
Vapor Degreasing, Ultrasonic Immersion, Cold Cleaning
GenTech™ is a stabilized n-Propyl bromide formulation that is very effective for the replacement of methylene chloride in vapor degreasing, ultrasonic immersion, cold cleaning, and cold wipe applications. GenTech™ is a non-flammable, azeotropic mixture that sustains an extended bath life under extensive use in industrial applications.
Switching to GenTech™
You will be required to adjust the temperature and safety settings of your vapor degreaser to the appropriate levels for operating at 160° F - the boiling point of GenTech™. You will also need to drain the methylene chloride from your cleaning system and clean out all remaining contamination. These procedures are typically all you will need to do to switch to GenTech™. Contact our technical support team for recommendations regarding your specific application.
Equipment Requirements for Operating GenTech™
GenTech™ is not subject to NESHAP regulations. Vapor degreasers and cold cleaning systems operating with GenTech™ do not need to be permitted under the NESHAP regulation and are not required to have the high level emission control features and operating procedures defined under NESHAP.
Methylene chloride is subject to NESHAP and therefore requires that any vapor degreaser or cold cleaning systems, where methylene chloride is the solvent in use, have one of several combinations of emission control devices such as:
Freeboard refrigerated device
Super heated vapor
Working mode covers
Automated part handling
Carbon absorber
If your current cleaning system is compliant with the NESHAP regulation it will be more than adequate for the safe and efficient operation of GenTech™.
GenTech™ Applications
Carrier and Deposition Applications
GenTech™-CB (carrier blend) can also be used to replace methylene chloride in carrier and deposition applications. GenTech™-CB is very useful in these types of applications because it is 100% volatile, leaves no residue, is fast evaporating, and has the same aggressive solvency as methylene chloride on organic materials.
Adhesive Removal Applications
Our AeroTron™ blend is an excellent replacement for methylene chloride in textile applications to remove adhesives. AeroTron™ is 100% volatile, leaves no residue, will not discolor the textile, is fast evaporating, and has the same aggressive solvency as methylene chloride on adhesive.
Paint Stripping Applications
GenTech™ is not a good substitute for methylene chloride for the purpose of paint stripping. We have extensively tested, formulated, and had customer beta testing on GenTech™ for this application and have determined that the inherent characteristics of the base material are not satisfactory to achieve the typical requirements of this industry.
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Reliance also manufactures the ULTRA™ line of vapor degreasing equipment to provide our customers a simple comprehensive cleaning package for your company.
LEARN MORE
To Learn More...
Please visit our page that further compares GenTech™ to methylene chloride and feel free to contact us if you have a technical question, require additional information, or you would like a free sample. We look forward to hearing from you.