Why You Should Use Dimethyl Carbonate in Formulations

Here at Ecolink, we are all about offering cost-effective green chemicals that maximize cleaning and minimize chemicals. When it comes to formulating products, wouldn’t it be great if you could formulate your products with a material that is eco-friendly, cost-effective, and does not sacrifice either safety, quality, or performance of the products? The chemical compound, Dimethyl Carbonate, is starting to spark the attention of formulators.

What Is Dimethyl Carbonate?

Dimethyl Carbonate is a clear, colorless liquid with a mild, pleasant odor. It is non-toxic, biodegradable with tunable chemical reactivity, low in density, and has a low evaporation rate. Dimethyl Carbonate is generally considered to be safe and reliable for the following industries:

  • Industrial product makers
  • Institutional product makers
  • Commercial product makers
  • Household product makers

Dimethyl Carbonate is used as an eco-friendly alternative to dimethyl sulfate (or methyl halides) and phosgene for methylation and carboxylation reactions. Dimethyl Carbonate is actually exempt from the restrictions placed on most VOCs (volatile organic compounds) in the United States, which is why many see it as a viable option for their industrial, institutional, commercial, and household product line needs. Dimethyl Carbonate is classified as being very versatile due to it being used in various industries and applications such as paint and coatings, gravure inks, aerosols, resin manufacturing, degreasing applications, and more. Many formulation chemists are thinking about making Dimethyl Carbonate their main VOC-exempt option because of how effective it is, its functionality, and its cost.

Advantages of Dimethyl Carbonate

Dimethyl Carbonate has a fast evaporation rate compares positively with other low-VOC (volatile organic compound) materials. Dimethyl Carbonate’s flashpoint is higher than chemical compounds such as acetone and ethyl acetate, which are materials that Dimethyl Carbonate can replace. Dimethyl Carbonate can also replace Ethanol, Isopropyl Alcohol, Methyl Ethyl Ketone, Methyl Isobutyl Ketone and Methyl Propyl Ketone. Also, Dimethyl Carbonate is highly soluble and miscible with most organic solvents. One of the big benefits that make Dimethyl Carbonate attractive to many formulators is the fact that Dimethyl Carbonate is environmentally friendly and has VOC-exemption from the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency). Dimethyl Carbonate is also non-toxic and biodegradable, which makes it a green reagent. Dimethyl Carbonate’s toxicity levels are low and give its great praise for its occupational safety and industrial air quality.

Interested in Using Dimethyl Carbonate in Formulations?

Utilizing Dimethyl Carbonate in formulations is not only eco-friendly and cost-effective alternative to many organic solvents, but it’s an alternative that does not sacrifice safety, quality, or performance. To find out if Dimethyl Carbonate is the best option for you, please call us today at (800) 563-1305, or send us an email through our contact form. We look forward to hearing from you and seeing how we can help with your degreasing needs!

White Oil versus Mineral Spirits

What is White Oil?

White oil has a variety of names that correspond towards the intended use of the oil.  The general, and interchangeable, names are white oil and mineral oil. A few other names include paraffinum perliquidum, paraffin oil, liquid paraffin, and liquid petroleum.  White oil is a colorless and odorless mixture of higher alkanes from a mineral source. This mineral source is usually from a distillate of petroleum. Mineral Oil is a food safe oil that was used initially as a laxative. Mineral oil has multiple uses such as a finishing solvent.

What are Mineral Spirits?

Mineral spirits, also known as a white spirits or petroleum distillates, is a petroleum derived solvent.  Mineral spirits is a type of thinner for finishes and used greatly as a paint solvent. This product is not food safe and should not be used near it.  Mineral spirits were commonly used as a cutting fluid in precision cutting. Mineral spirits is also most widely used as a solvent in the paint industry.  The main use for mineral spirits is as a cleaning solvent and degreaser for machine parts and as a reaming lubricant.

Benefits of White Oil

Mineral spirits have a kerosine-like odor which causes several people to be irritated with the smell.  This also causes proper ventilation to be necessary when handling. White spirits is mainly classed as a skin irritant.  If exposed to white spirits through direct contact for several hours, severe chemical burns may form. Acute exposure to mineral spirits may also result in a lack of coordination and slowed reactions.  Although white spirits is moderately toxic to aquatic organisms, is presents no significant hazards to the environment like white oil.

Whether you are wanting to know more about the difference between mineral oil and mineral spirits, or to find out more about purchasing, please contact Ecolink at info@ecolink.com, or call us at (800)563-1305.

Acetona

Que es acetona?

La acetona es muy conocida por ser un buen solvente. Es un líquido volátil sin ningún tipo de color alguno, comúnmente usado por muchos científicos para crear nuevos productos. Sin embargo, la acetona es frecuentemente usado en distintas variedades de productos de limpieza.

Ventajas de usar acetona como limpiador:

La acetona contiene muchísimas ventajas al usarla como limpiador. Tiene la particularidad de disolver cualquier molécula, es tan poderoso que incluso limpiadores profesionales que enfrentan suciedad difíciles de limpiar, usan este producto la mayoría de las veces. La acetona es ideal para remover grasa, aceite, suciedad y pegamento. Algo interesante de este producto es que cuando la acetona es liberada en el medio ambiente, esta se disuelve rápidamente.

Una gran variedad de mecanismos han sido diseñados y producidos a través de los años para mantener la acetona estable y seguro, Es por eso que una gran cantidad de limpiadores profesionales  utilizan acetona de una manera cuidadosa.

Usos de la acetona:

La acetona es útil para muchas industrias. Sus usos más comunes son:

  • Industria cosmética: La acetona es usada como ingrediente en maquillaje, cremas para la piel, y en salones de belleza.
  • Industria de pinturas: La acetona es utilizado como disolvente de pintura, removedor de pintura, y barniz removedor.
  • Industria de impresión: La acetona es utilizada como un equipamiento limpiador.
  • Industria de farmacia: La acetona es utilizada para crear la mayoría de las medicinas.
  • Industria manufacturera: La acetona es utilizada en la producción de plásticos y otros productos de fabricación.

Quiere comprar acetona?

Si busca un producto de acetona industrial o comercial para su negocio, puede comprar cómodamente nuestros solventes de limpieza aquí: Ecolink Wipe Solvents.

Why Using Green Solvent Degreasers Are Important

Degreasers are commonly used as industrial cleaners to remove substances such as grease, paint, oil, lubricants, and other organic films from machines, tools, and floors. When it comes to choosing a degreaser, most tend to lean towards solvent based degreasers. Solvents are liquids or gases that can dissolve or extract other substances. Common uses for organic solvents are in industrial products such as paint thinners, spot removers, detergents, dry cleaning, and even found on the consumer level in nail polish removers. Solvent-based degreasers can rapidly dissolve oil, grease, paint, and other contaminants. However, having solvent-based ingredients in degreasers means more regulation from the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) due to the health hazards that are associated with traditional solvents.

Traditional Solvent Health Hazards

The health hazards that are associated with traditional solvents include toxicity to the nervous system, reproductive damage, liver damage, kidney damage, respiratory impairment, etc. Also, some of the ingredients that are found in traditional industrial degreasers can cause significant unwanted side effects such as damage to equipment or contamination of waste-water. Some of the problematic ingredients include emulsifiers, petroleum products, inhibitors, chelating agents, and more. While some of these ingredients help degreasers with having enough power to handle various types of manufactured parts, components, and materials, you should not have to compromise safety for power.

The Advantages of Using An Green Solvent

Using a hazardous ingredient-free solvent such as Ecolink’s QED provides the power that is needed to remove substances such as grease, fuel oil, carbon and organic resins while being environmentally safe and being safe on many plastic and rubber surfaces. Ecolink’s QED product is:

  • Odorless
  • Contains no water
  • Rapidly leaves no residue of any kind
  • Very rapid evaporation
  • High dielectric strength for use on electrical apparatus
  • Contains no OSHA or ACGIH listed ingredients
  • Surfaces are ready for painting, bonding, or any other critical applications after hand wipe cleaning surfaces with QED

Interested in an Environmentally Solvent Degreaser That Is Green?

Utilizing a hazardous ingredient-free, eco-friendly solvent degreaser such as Ecolink’s QED will not only provide the power of traditional solvent-based degreaser but will also be safer for work environments as well as safer for the environment. To find out if an eco-friendly solvent degreaser is the best option for you, please call us today at (800) 563-1305, or send us an email through our contact form. For over 25 years, we’ve provided stock and custom cleaners that have an amazing efficacy. We look forward to hearing from you and seeing how we can help with your degreasing needs!

Six Benefits of Replacing TCE with NuGenTec FluoSolv® CX

Laboratory analysis of Trichloroethylene (TCE) has classified the chemical compound as a Category 2 carcinogen that has an R-45 Risk Phase. Moreover, this means that the solution “may cause cancer” in those who are chronically exposed to it. Additional health problems that stem from TCE exposure include: eye and skin irritation, drowsiness, and dizziness.

If your company uses TCE for a specific application on a limited basis, recovers waste TCE after a job is finished, and provides proper personal protective equipment (PPE) to those who work with the solution, replacing TCE with a solution that has a better safety profile may be beside the point. However, if your company uses a large volume of TCE in any given period of time, it should consider replacing TCE with NuGenTec FluoSolv® CX for the following reasons.

1. The Solution Is not a CMR
Unlike TCE, the Solvent Emissions Directive (SED) does not classify NuGenTec FluoSolv® CX as a carcinogenic, mutagenic or reproductive toxin (CMR). This means the solution does not carry the risk phases that are associated with TCE and similar types of chemical formulations.

2. High Exposure Limit
PPG — a leading manufacturer of TCE in the U.S. — sets the exposure limit for TCE at 5 ppm. Conversely, NuGenTec FluoSolv® CX has an exposure limit up to 200 ppm. Replacing the former with the latter gives you more flexibility to use the solution on a frequent basis.

3. High Annual Consumption Level
The SED caps the annual consumption level of TCE at below 1 tonne per year. This is 50 percent less than the annual consumption for NuGenTec FluoSolv® CX, which has an annual consumption level of 2 tonnes per year. Again, using the latter solution gives you more flexibility.

4. Low Global Warming Potential
If your company is committed to supporting the environment through the use of eco friendly solutions, using NuGenTec FluoSolv® CX in place of TCE is an excellent option. TCE has a global warming potential (GWE) of 140. The GWE for NuGenTec FluoSolv® CX is 50.

5. Requires No Stabilizers
When it is used for vapor degreasing operations, TCE requires the addition of a stabilizer to increase its chemical stability. NuGenTec FluoSolv® CX, on the other hand, is formulated to be chemically stable. This can help you cut costs by using lower amounts of stabilizer solutions.

6. Doesn’t Generate a Waste Stream
Replacing TCE with NuGenTec FluoSolv® CX eliminates a liquid waste stream that must be disposed of according to federal, state, or municipal guidelines. Eliminating the liquid waste stream is good for the environment, and helps companies spend less money on waste disposal.

Contact EcoLink Today
If your company relies heavily on the use of TCE, it should ideally replace the solution with NuGenTec FluoSolv® CX for the reasons listed above. There are plenty of TCE replacements out there, but NuGenTec FluoSolv® CX delivers one of the widest ranges of benefits of any replacement solution.

For more information about NuGenTec FluoSolv® CX and replacing TCE, call us today at (800) 563-1305, or contact us today. We look forward to assisting you!