Cleaning Krytox Grease
How to Clean Krytox™ Grease
Cleaning Krytox is difficult because it is inert to many cleaning agents and therefore requires a solvent with a special composition that will remove the fluorinated grease. AeroTron-LT is a fluorinated-based solvent that will effectively clean Krytox - in bench-top or vapor degreasing cleaning operations.
Cleaning Krytox™ grease is part of any industrial maintenance and manufacturing process. Krytox is an excellent industrial lubricant which is insoluble in water, acids, bases, and most organic solvents - which makes it difficult to remove. In this post we will discuss Krytox and how to effectively remove it from industrial parts using AeroTron-LT.
What is Krytox?
Krytox is a group of synthetic lubricants (a.k.a. oils and greases) used in a variety of applications. Invented by researchers at DuPont, Krytox oils are fluorocarbon ether polymers. These compounds are collectively known by many names including perfluoropolyether (PFPE), perfluoroalkylether (PFAE) and perfluoropolyalkylether (PFPAE).
Krytox is thermally stable, nonflammable and insoluble in water, acids, bases, and most organic solvents. It is nonvolatile and useful over broad temperature ranges.
How is it used?
Krytox™ is used as an industrial lubricant across a wide array of industries including Aerospace, Automotive, Electronics & Semiconductor manufacture (to name a few).
Cleaning Krytox from Bearings
These bearings are covered in Krytox grease. Vapor degreasing outfitted with ultrasonics completely cleans the bearings in less than 5 minutes. No scrubbing, drying or rinsing necessary.
Why is it hard to remove?
Krytox™ lubricants remain chemically inert under the many conditions. Krytox™ oils and greases are, by design, highly resistant to most commonly used organic solvents and proper removal requires the use of a specialty lubricant remover.
How to Remove Krytox?
As stated above, given Krytox is a fluorocarbon ether it needs to be removed with a solvent that has a fluorinated component as part of its base chemistry. Think: fluorinated solvents remove fluorinated lubricants. AeroTron-LT is a powerful fluorinated-based solvent that is specially formulated to remove fluorinated greases and lubricants including Krytox and other fluorinated greases like Fluorolube®.
AeroTron-LT cleaning solvent:
Is US-EPA SNAP approved
Evaporates quickly (with minimal to no drying time)
Leaves minimal residue (reducing the need for rework)
Is compatible with a variety of substrates (including aluminum and stainless)
Can be used as a cold wipe in field maintenance or bench-top cleaning applications
Can be used in vapor degreasing applications as it is non-flammable and stays azeotropic.
Non-flammable
Azeotropic formulation enables it to be distilled
Conclusion
Fluorinated lubricants, like Krytox are used in many applications where resistance to aggressive chemicals is required, thus they require a unique cleaning solvent composition for their removal. AeroTron-LT is specially formulated to remove fluorinated greases and lubricants including Krytox and it can be used in wiping and/or vapor degreasing cleaning applications.
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Give us a call or contact us to discuss your application and how AeroTron-LT and vapor degreasing might be an option for you. We can test clean parts in our vapor degreasing lab and share our recommendations for optimized cleaning.
At Reliance, we take a comprehensive, systemic approach to supporting our customers to finding solution to their cleaning needs. Reliance Technical Support Department at 847-640-8923. We are glad to be of assistance.
