We
understand there’s more to
your immersion cleaning system than just choosing
the right cleaner. Tank design is also important.
The following are a few critical elements to
consider when designing a good immersion cleaning
system. BioChem Systems customer service representatives
have considerable experience in designing these
types of cleaning systems. We are more than happy
to help you design a Bio T 300B system to meet
your specific requirements. Call us at 800-777-7870
to schedule an appointment.
Immersion Tank Design
Immersion tanks should be sized to fit the parts
or baskets being cleaned. Design your tank to allow
several inches of clearance on all sides of the
parts. This permits adequate liquid circulation
and ensures parts will not hit the sides of the
tank when being submerged or removed.
Immersion Tank Materials
Stainless steel is the material of choice for wash
tanks containing Bio T 300B. However, for small
tanks (less than three cubic feet), high-density
polypropylene (HDPP) may be used. Thick walled
plastic tanks are preferable to minimize warping.
Mild steel may also be used, but corrosion may
occur on the tank walls above the liquid level.
Agitation
Immersion cleaning systems work best when the parts
are submerged in the liquid with good agitation.
Good agitation is defined as complete turnover
movement of the liquid in the tank. This is accomplished
by pumping into the bottom of one end of the tank
and removing liquid from the top opposite end of
the tank. The liquid should turn over in the tank
at least once every five minutes.
Bath Maintenance
Maintaining the proper Bio T 300B concentration is
critical to an effective cleaning system. Control
Charts like the one shown below are used to adjust
the strength of the Bio T 300B bath once the proper
concentration is determined. If proper concentration
is maintained, a 300B bath can be filtered and
reused for 12 months or longer. The strength of
the wash bath is easily determined by measuring
the specific gravity and using the adjustment chart
below.
|
Typical
Adjustment Chart
150-Gallon Working Capacity/10 Percent
Concentration |
|
Specific
Gravity |
BioT
300B
Concentration |
BioT
300B/
Gallons |
Water/
Gallons |
| 0.9913 |
5% |
7.5 |
0 |
| 0.9898 |
6% |
6.0 |
0 |
| 0.9883 |
7% |
4.5 |
0 |
| 0.9868 |
8% |
3.0 |
0 |
| 0.9853 |
9% |
1.5 |
0 |
| 0.9838 |
10% |
0 |
0 |
| 0.9823 |
11% |
0 |
1.5 |
| 0.9807 |
12% |
0 |
3.0 |
| 0.9792 |
13% |
0 |
4.5 |
| 0.9777 |
14% |
0 |
6.0 |
| 0.9762 |
15% |
0 |
7.5 |
|
Note:
Measure specific gravity with a .950-1.000
range hydrometer. |
Rinse Tank Design
Parts can be rinsed by spraying them directly with
water. This is accomplished by moving the parts through
a tank where spray nozzles are directed on parts.
If the parts have blind holes or are stacked on top
of one another preventing the spray from completely
removing the wash liquids, dip tanks with circulating
water should be used. Mechanical agitation (up and
down motion of parts or baskets) may also be helpful.
In
some processes, water spots (white spots or rings)
are cause for rejection. Water spots can be prevented
by using deionized (DI) water.
Rinse Tank Materials
Stainless steel, HDPP or painted mild steel is recommended
when constructing a proper rinse tank. For large
systems (500-gallons or larger), metal tanks are
preferred.
Rinse Tank Maintenance
When rinse water becomes cloudy, the concentration
of organic compounds is approximately 30 parts
per million and should be replaced with clean water.
At this concentration, rinse water can be disposed
of directly into most municipal waste treatment
facilities. (Contact your local or state water
treatment authority to determine allowable discharge
levels for organic materials.)
Pumps
All wash tanks should be equipped with a circulating
system in order to achieve effective cleaning.
A circulation pump should be chosen based on several
factors: size of the tank, size of piping, amount
of agitation needed to give good circulation through
the tank. Suggestions for choosing the proper pump
relative to tank size are provided in the following
table.
| Tank
Size, Gallons |
50-200 |
100-200 |
200-300 |
300-500 |
Circulation
Pump
Flow Rate, GPM |
50 GPM |
100
GPM |
100
GPM |
300
GPM |
| Circulation
Pipe Size |
1.25"-1.5" |
1.5"-2" |
2" |
2.5" |
| Distribution
Pipe |
| Pipe
Size |
1.5" |
2" |
2" |
2.5" |
| Hole
Size |
1/8" |
1/8" |
3/16" |
3/8" |
Pump Construction
Centrifugal type pumps are very effective and economical.
To be compatible with 300B, pumps should be constructed
from stainless steel or hard plastic. Additionally,
pump seals should be made of Viton, EDPM, or Kynar,
or other elastomeric material such as Nitrile. Natural
rubber seals such as SBR are to be avoided due to
swelling and early failure.
Filters
All immersion systems should include a filter system
to remove particulate and oil contaminants. Bag
filters, such as FSI (POMF 0A) filters are very
effective on large high flow systems. Particulate
such as metal fines and other dirt contamination
are easily taken out of the system to keep the
wash bath clean. The bags are easily removed and
disposed of as solid waste.
Bag filters using cotton
or polypropylene are used to remove oil and other
petroleum products from the bath. For bag filters
to be effective in removing oils, the liquid flow
needs to be low (less than 15 gallons per minute).
High flow pumping systems cause oils to be washed
off the filter media and returned to the bath. For
large systems, oil can be removed from the bath by
using a side stream from the main circulating lines
and a smaller pump, to feed through a separate, "low
flow filter" that will remove the oil from the
bath.
Bio T 300B is available:
- 5-gallon pails
- 55-gallon drums |
