Number
311-EN
Section
General Section
Use
Sector
General manufacturing, e.g. machinery, equipment, vehicles, other transport equipment
Other
Function
Cleaning agent
Process
Manual activities involving hand contact
Product category
washing ad cleaning products
Application
Cleaning of tools
Abstract
A plastic boat producer used very volatile and highly flammable acetone to clean tools that came in contact with polystyrene resin. Substituting acetone with propylene carbonate reduced consumption by ten times and diminished considerably the fire and explosion risks.
Substituted substances
Acetone
CAS No. 67-64-1 EC No. 200-662-2 Index No. 606-001-00-8
Chemical group
Ketones
Classification: hazard statements
H225 Highly flammable liquid and vapour
H336 May cause drowsiness or dizziness
H319 Causes serious eye irritation
Alternative Substances
Propylene carbonate
CAS No. 108-32-7 EC No. 203-572-1 Index No. 607-194-00-1
Chemical group
Carbonic acid esters
Classification: hazard statements
H319 Causes serious eye irritation
Reliability of information
Internet information: data are from an internet document and only a basic and partial evaluation could be performed
Reason substitution
physical hazards
neurotoxicant
Hazard Assessment
Substance to be substituted: Acetone is not listed in the SUBSPORTplus Database. Alternative substances: Propylene carbonate is not listed in the SUBSPORTplus Database and has no harmonised classification according to Annex VI of Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 (CLP Regulation).
Description of Substitution
A factory producing boats made of fiberglass reinforced polyester used 60 000 litres of acetone per month to clean the tools used in operations with the polyester resin. Because acetone is very volatile a huge amount of it was lost by evaporation, even though the company had a solvent recovery system in place. The company turned to propylene carbonate (PC) as alternative, which is a much less volatile solvent. As a consequence the solvent consumption dropped ten times. Moreover, the risk of fire and explosion diminished also, because acetone is classified as highly flammable, with a negative flash point (below 00C), while PC has a flash point above 1000C and is not classified as flammable. The company is very satisfied with the quality of results. Beside cleaning well, PC maintains the resin fluid so that tools do not get clogged if left soaked for several hours. The substitution case is extracted from a report (point 4.4.3) about the properties, hazards and use of propylene carbonate as possible alternative to various hazardous solvents (see Information supplier).
Case/substitution evaluation
The substitution does not need important changes to be implemented. Its main advantages are a reduction in the fire and explosion risks, cutting solvent emissions into the environment and improving solvent consumption.
State of implementation
In use
Date and place of implementation
USA
Availability of Alternative
Alternative is available
Type of information supplier
Research
Contact
IRSST Canada, http://www.irsst.qc.ca/media/documents/PubIRSST/B-070.pdf
Type of publication and availability
Document freely avaliable on internet (in French)
Publication source: author, company, institute, year
The presentation is based on the report written by BÉGIN, Denis, Charles BEAUDRY, Michel GÉRIN. La substitution des solvants par le carbone de propylène, Rapport B-070, published on the website of the Institut de recherche Robert-Sauvé en santé et en sécurité du travail- IRSST in 2005.
Publication source
Type of publication and availability
http://www.irsst.qc.ca/media/documents/PubIRSST/B-070.pdf
Date, reviewed
November 26, 2021