Removing Skin Oils from Materials

Q. Need a suitable detergent for cleaning skin oils from assorted materials; aluminum both anodized and bare, ULTEM, Ceramics, polypropylene, nylon and others. I currently run 160F wash temp and 100F DI rinse water. We are currently using Brulin 815GD detergent. We need to minimize process time. Do you supply any possible replacements? I am afraid I might be etching my aluminum parts.

A. The best detergent for a mix of aluminum and nylon is a mild acid detergent such as Citranox® Liquid Acid Cleaner and Detergent.  This will not etch aluminum.  Be careful not to mix metals in the same tank with aluminum to avoid galvanic reactions that deposit oxides on the aluminum. Typically Citranox detergent would be used at a ½ to 1/3 the concentration of Brulin 815GD.

To decrease cycle time with Citranox detergent, the best thing to do is increase temperature.  Every 10 deg C you go up in temperature, you double the cleaning speed.  Be careful not to exceed the temperature that the nylon or any other plastics or elastomers can tolerate.  Another improvement would be to use a hotter rinse temperature.  Hotter rinse water will rinse faster and more efficiently – especially a very hot first rinse will avoid breaking emulsions and redepositing oils during rinsing.

For information on Citranox detergent, see the Technical Bulletin.  Or click here to access Citranox detergent’s (sds) Safety Data Sheet. You can also request a free sample by completing the questionnaire at Get Sample.