Replacing a <1 pH Acid Electronics Cleaner

Q. Our current detergent is very acidic (pH ~ 1) and very costly to dispose of. We wish to use a cleaning solution that is non-hazardous and can be disposed of down our sink drains into the sewer system. Are solutions of Alconox electronics cleaners (i.e. 1-2% of Citrajet or Detergent 8) safe for dumping down the drain?

A. If you are using the below pH 1 cleaner for non-bonded metal oxide particulate removal, or salt and scale removal, we may very well be able to help you. We can offer Citranox or Citrajet acid cleaner (pH 2.5 at use dilutions) which would be safer to handle and easier to dispose of than a below pH 1 solution.

If you are using the below pH 1 solution for some general purpose cleaning, possible Alconox or Detergent 8 would be best, and would be safer and easier to dispose of. In answer to your question, yes both Alconox and Detergent 8 solutions can be disposed of as non-hazardous waste by Federal standards.

Depending on your local requirements or sewerage discharge permit, it is possible that a Detergent 8 solution would need to be treated to reduce the pH prior to discharge. A spent Detergent 8 solution is typically around pH 10-11, by Federal Standards this is below pH 12.5 so it can go to drain as long as no local standards apply. Occasionally local standards might be as low as 11 or in some cases 10. Sometimes if a local standard is 11, a corporate standard might be 10, so it really depends.

If you have a very unusual sewerage discharge permit, you might not be allowed to discharge Alconox because it contains phosphates. I have heard of one company that was operating under a consent decree in Florida that had very strict phosphate discharge limits, but otherwise at a spent solution pH of 8-9.5 it is pretty unlikely that Alconox would present any discharge problem. Spent solutions of Citrajet are typically pH 3-4 and can go to drain by Federal Standards (must be above pH 2.0) and in exremely unusual situations might not meet local or internal corporate discharge standards.

For more information please see the Detergents Technical Bulletins. To test an Alconox, Inc. detergent for free, please complete the questionnaire at Get Sample.  For more on cleaning electronics, please visit Alconox website.