Handbook of Solvents - George Wypych - ChemTech - Ventech!

14.26 Use of solvents in the shipbuilding 1037
14.26.10 REGULATIONS AND GUIDELINES FOR CLEANING SOLVENTS
The U.S. EPA developed a guideline document to help state and local agencies reduce VOC
emissions for the use of cleaning solvents. The document does not provide emission limits,
but instead recommends the use of a management system for tracking usage, emissions, and
waste from the use of organic solvents and provides a list of definitions that should be used
for that purpose. 35 Less than 20 states had regulated VOC emissions from the use of organic
cleaning solvents by 1997. 36 Many states only had minimal record-keeping requirements.
Some regulations are driving facilities to use solvents with lower vapor pressures. These
low vapor pressure solvents evaporate more slowly at ambient temperatures. However, the
emission benefits cannot be guaranteed to last forever. An organic solvent should eventually
all evaporate unless it is reused, recycled, or sealed in a container.
Many of the cleaning solvents used, such as 1,1,1-trichloroethane, are not considered
VOC in the United States. Those solvents are regulated as HAPs and are being phased out
because of the Montreal Protocol which aims to reduce ozone depleters. Alternative cleaners
are now being used and further developed. To meet regulatory requirements, a facility
will often replace or substitute a cleaning product containing HAP material(s) with one or
more products containing no HAP solvents (but may contain VOC solvents or vice versa).
Acetone, once the preferred solvent for fiberglass boat manufacturers, was replaced starting
in 1992 with other solvents such as diacetone alcohol. 37 The latter solvent is as effective as
acetone, but has a much lower vapor pressure (0.80 mm Hg at 20 o C) and flash point (52 o C)
to reduce the amount of VOC emitted and hazardous reportable releases. Acetone was recently
determined not to have significant photochemical reactivity and is no longer considered
a VOC in the United States. As a result, acetone is now making a comeback in cleaners
and in some coatings. HCFCs are now being used instead of CFCs, but will soon need to be
replaced because of the Montreal Protocol. There are many articles in the literature that discuss
alternatives that will reduce VOC and HAP emissions. 38-42 The use of waterborne materials
or other material(s) containing no HAPs or VOCs is the ideal solution, when such
coatings or cleaners will do the job. Software and internet sites also exist to help in the selection
of the appropriate solvent cleaner or method of cleaning.
Disclaimer
The views expressed in this chapter are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect
those of their affiliation. Mentioning the names of organizations does not constitute an endorsement.
REFERENCES
1 South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD), Rule 1106: Marine Coating Operations, 1995.
2 SCAQMD, Rule 1171: Solvent Cleaning Operations, (1996) and Rule 1122: Solvent Degreasers, (1996).
3 40 CFR Part 63, Subpart II, (1995), U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC.
4 40 CFR, Part 63, Subpart T, (1996), U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC.
5 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Control Techniques Guideline Shipbuilding and Ship Repair
Operations (Surface Coating), Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, North Carolina,
EPA-453/R-94-015, (NTIS no. PB94-156791).
6 U.S. EPA, Federal Register, August 27, 1996 (vol. 61, no. 167), pp. 44050-44057.
7 M. A. Serageldin in Electrochemical Society Proceedings, Volume 95-16, Electrochemical Society Inc.,
Chicago, Illinois 1997, pp. 1-16.
8 T. J. Snider, An Analysis of Air Pollution Control Technologies for Shipyard Emittted Volatile Organic
Compounds (VOCs), National Shipbuilding Research Program, Report No. 0376. March 1993, pp. 3-5.
9 U.S. EPA, EPA Office of Compliance Sector Notebook: Profile of The Shipbuilding and Repairing Industry,
EPA Office of Compliance, Washington, D.C, EPA/310-R-97-008, 1997, pp. 75-78.