What Makes an Industrial Cleaning Product GREEN?
Some would say it must be 100% biodegradable and non toxic. Most people would probably say that a water-based solution is the only way to be truly green. But what if by trying to make a process like that work, you actually end up doing more harm to the environment? This is the question we asked ourselves when we started this company. The key to being green, we decided, was to strive for the optimum balance between cleaning power and environmental-friendliness.
Many “Eco Friendly” Products Cause More Problems than they Solve
Simply put, being “green” as defined by most environmentalists basically mean that the product is 100% safe for people and the environment in terms of direct impact on the environment and human health. But these solutions often come at a significant, albeit hidden, drawback. As these industrial degreasing solutions become less toxic and more environmentally safe, they require more and more energy, water and time to accomplish the same results. So,wouldn't the best means of being green be to minimize the environmental and human health impact as much as possible while also maintaining or even improving the performance of the cleaning chemical? This thought process is what led to the development of EnSolv n-propyl bromide based degreasing solvents.
Redefining What is Green By Looking at Overall Environmental Impact
What makes EnSolv better than a typical green cleaning solution? First of all, nPB solvents require much less energy and water to operate than the solvents they were designed to replace, which saves on energy costs and reduces CO2 emissions generated by the burning of fossil fuels to produce the electricity required to use them.
Because nPB boils at a lower temperature than solvents like TCE and PERC, it requires less water usage as well, which means that less of the water meant for people to drink and for crops to grow is consumed by industrial cleaning processes. Water-based cleaning solutions require tremendous amounts of heat energy, filtration and water consumption. Particularly in places like the Southwest and in California, it makes no sense whatsoever to force industries into exclusively water based cleaning because water is already in significantly short supply for the people living there. Also, the industrial wastes produced by water based cleaning processes must be purified out of the water which requires an enormous amount of energy as well. Whereas, the industrial waste generated through the use of EnSolv can be recycled and reused at far less cost and energy than is required to recycle water.
Enviro Tech has partnered with the leading waste disposal company in the U.S., Veolia Environmental Services, to offer an n-propyl bromide solvent recycling program to industrial users which lowers waste disposal costs and prevents industrial waste from ending up in landfills or other areas that can be detrimental to the environment. It's just one example of a unique kind of program that is truly a win-win for everyone involved, including the environment.
