Parts Washers
POC: Matt Rothgeb, NASA TEERM
Principal Center (321-867-8476)
matthew.j.rothgeb@nasa.gov
Background
Solvent based parts washers are prevalent among NASA’s Centers and vary in design and
cleaning constituents, many of which are hazardous to the environment and human health.
Developments in the field of environmentally friendly part washer chemistries have allowed many bio-based and
solvent-free parts washers to gain recognition and many are approved for use in
numerous applications. Several environmentally preferable part washers have 
shown to produce minimal to no hazardous waste and should be considered by NASA Centers to replace any currently used part
washers that use hazardous materials. While Bio-based parts washers offer a
very good alternative, others such as semi-aqueous, or Hazardous Air Pollutant
(HAP) free and Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) free solvents should be
considered for use as well because of the variety of needs each NASA Center may
have.
Parts washers are used throughout NASA facilities in machine shops, pre-cleaning
rooms, HVAC shops, garages, aircraft hangars and other areas. They are used to
clean ground service equipment, facilities maintenance equipment, as well as
flight hardware.
Typically, parts washers are used to clean gross contamination and in many
cases, further cleaning (precision cleaning) may be required after cleaning is
performed in a parts washer.
Typical solvent based parts washers generate hundreds of gallons of waste a year
per washer and are both an environmental and worker safety concern.
Recently, equipment manufacturers have developed bio-based cleaning systems
utilizing aqueous degreasing fluids that eliminate most if not all of this waste
stream. Some of these parts washers recirculate and filter their own cleaner
and require infrequent or no draining at all. Some only require a new filter
and to be topped off with replacement fluid several times a year in high-usage
situations. This type of unit eliminates the large quantity of hazardous waste
that some parts washers generate and eliminates HAPs and VOCs that are generated
in commonly used solvent based parts washers. These bio-based parts washers
greatly reduce the release of HAPs and VOCs and can eliminate much or all of the
liquid hazardous waste.
There are also other types of alternative parts washers on the market and in development. The
entire spectrum of available environmentally preferable parts washers should be
considered in order to find the best fit for each NASA facility.
Several NASA shops
have already converted to alternative parts washers and reported satisfactory
results. Some alternative cleaning solutions can be used on exotic metals and
materials with no discoloration or damage to the substrate. If testing should
be necessary to determine whether a shop’s current parts washing operation can
use an alternative cleaning system, the testing will likely be performed at a
NASA facility that already has implemented such a parts washer.
Objective
The objective of this project is to facilitate NASA Centers’ conversion to bio-based
non-hazardous parts washers or other environmentally friendly alternative parts
washers, wherever possible. If demonstration or validation is necessary for
certain components or alloys that are currently being cleaned with parts
washers, then those demonstration / validations may be accomplished at NASA
facilities that are already using environmentally friendly parts washers.
Project Scope
Parts washers  are in use at nearly all NASA facilities. Their use is required for degreasing of
small parts for both facilities maintenance as well as flight hardware
cleaning. Typically, and in the past, parts are scrubbed or submerged in a
solvent-based cleaner in a parts washer and scrubbed until clean. The time it
takes to clean a part is crucial, considering that sometimes many parts need to
be cleaned in a work-day. In the past, aqueous parts washers were not
considered practical because they could not deliver the level of cleanliness
required or the time it took to clean a part was far greater than if cleaned
with a solvent degreaser.
Typical parts washers use solvent blends to clean parts. The cleaner is run
through a filtration system until it is too dirty to be used, and at such a time
the solvent cleaner is removed and disposed of as hazardous waste (either for
recycling or fuels blending typically), or recycled by the vendor for a monthly
service charge.
Recently bio-based, aqueous and semi-aqueous parts washers have come into the
industrial market place for use in these same types of operations. One of the
newer technologies is based on microbes that use petroleum, amongst other
contaminants, as a food source. Hydrocarbon-eating microbes are blended with
special nutrients and catalysts and then introduced into petroleum-contaminated
cleaning solution. The microbes are safe to humans and the environment, having
no recognized hazard potential under ordinary conditions of handling.
This and other novel technologies can reduce NASA's environmental footprint
across nearly all NASA Centers and can also decrease the cost of operation for
many shops. It is a positive step toward sustainability in the industrial
workplace throughout NASA.
Technical Objectives
- Demonstrate alternative parts
washers and determine if there are any incompatibilities if necessary
(sensitive or exotic substrates or flight hardware may be areas of concern)
- Develop a guide to assist NASA Centers with the selection of
environmentally preferable part washers.
- Determine which Centers can switch with ease (have no contracts with other
parts washer manufacturers) make those a first priority.
- Determine which Centers will have to wait until their contract for parts
washers is up for renewal to change to the new technology
- Implement new parts washers at NASA facilities wherever possible. Work
with the other stakeholders and technology vendors to determine if new
formulations can be made to allow for its use in areas that do not qualify
currently after demonstration / validation phase.
Quality Objectives
- Performance: Performance should meet current parts washer performance, taking into account a
possible increase in time to wash, but a lower initial cost of equipment and an
elimination of waste streams.
- Availability: Available on the market today
- Reliability: Other NASA facilities have used environmentally-preferred parts washers for all
applications, including flight hardware.
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