A NEW PROCESS ALTERNATIVE FOR REPLACING OZONE-DEPLETING SOLVENT CLEANERS

Raytheon Company of Lexington, MA,beta-site-tested a patent-pending process* during August of 1992. The process, ''Advanced Vapor Degreasing (AVD),'' is essentially a drop-in replacement, with minor modifications, to an existing vapor degreaser. The significance of this work is that it appears the process may be one of the most promising alternatives for ozone-depleting solvent cleaners. The main attributes of the system are short cycle times, the absence of water rinsing, good materials compatibility, effective cleaning and drying, acceptable environmental, health and safety impacts and similarity of the process to vapor degreasing.