Ultrasonic tank cleaning

Q. What is ultrasonic tank cleaning?   Which industries commonly employ the method?  What Alconox, Inc. brands would be ideal for ultrasonic tank cleaning?

A. Ultrasonic Tank cleaning works best on objects or part that are made of stainless steel, mild steel, aluminum, copper, brass, other alloys, plastic or rubber.  The object to be cleaned is placed in a chamber containing a suitable ultrasound conducting fluid such as an aqueous cleaner depending on the application.

Aqueous cleaners typically contain surfactants that reduce the surface tension of the water. An ultrasound generating transducer is built into the chamber, or may be lowered into the fluid. It is electronically activated to produce ultrasonic waves in the fluid. The main mechanism of cleaning action is by energy released from the creation and collapse of microscopic cavitation bubbles, which break up and lift off dirt and contaminants from the surface to be cleaned.

The higher the frequency, the smaller the nodes between the cavitation points which allows for more precise cleaning.   Industrial ultrasonic cleaners are used in the automotive, printing, marine, medical instruments, medical device manufacturing, electroplating, and weapons industries.

Liquinox, critical cleaning liquid detergent, is a high emulsifying cleaner that is an excellent product for use in soak and ultrasonic cleaning.  Citranox, acid cleaner and detergent, is also a high-emulsifying cleaner ideal for metal oxides and deposits.

Technical Bulletins and MSDS for each are downloadable from www.alconox.com.

For free detergent samples please visit Get Sample.

To ask a technical question to our cleaning experts please visit Ask Alconox.