"Green" Industrial Cleanser Developed by Gage Products

FERNDALE, Mich., Oct. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- A strong, but environmentally friendly cleansing solution for industrial heat-exchange systems has been developed by research scientists at Gage Products Co. in Ferndale, Michigan.

Originally developed for use in the company’s own solvent-refining operations, Gage’s R-300 cleanser is environmentally safer to use than traditional cleaning formulas that rely on hydrochloric, nitric or sulfuric acids.

Gage sees an almost unlimited market for its new cleaning solution, which goes on sale during the first quarter of 2003 and promises to save users thousands of dollars in annual operating and maintenance costs.

U.S. manufacturers have billions of dollars invested in heat-exchange equipment that plays a vital role in a variety of industrial processes, including paint manufacturing and food processing, according to Gage Products Company.

“A single heat-exchange system can cost several million dollars to install,” A Gage spokesperson notes. “Proper maintenance is required to reduce energy costs, extend equipment life and lower service costs.”

R-300 was first developed by Gage to clean a thin-film evaporation system at the heart of the company’s solvent-refining process. “It was so effective, we knew others could make use of it as well,” says Bob Scruggs, a senior systems specialist at Gage. “We later test-marketed R-300 with several customers whose production processes depend on heat-exchange equipment, and the results were incredibly good.”

Scruggs explains that heat exchangers that use processed and heated water typically suffer from a build-up of calcium carbonate, metal oxides, silt and other materials that can dramatically reduce the equipment’s effectiveness and thermal efficiency. The system itself is used primarily to transfer heat from one medium to another, while maintaining proper liquid-viscosity levels.

“To remove harmful build-up, facility managers traditionally have used cleaners based on nitric, hydrochloric or sulfuric acids,” Scruggs points out. “Unfortunately, these products can’t be used on components that might be harmed or destroyed by high-acid content cleansers. These same products also can be dangerous to workers and toxic to the environment.”

Because conventional cleansers are not able to thoroughly clean certain types of equipment, an entire system often must be disassembled and taken offsite for additional maintenance and service.

“R-300 relies on a new formula of acids, surfactants, wetting agents and other ingredients that can be used to thoroughly and safely clean heat exchangers on-site,” Scruggs says.

According to Gage, its new product can:
• Extend the life of heat-exchange equipment,
• Clean “soft” metal components often damaged by other cleansers,
• Lower service and maintenance costs,
• Reduce or eliminate system downtime,
• Improve overall operating efficiency, and
• Cut energy costs.

“As a company, we are dedicated to improving the environment,” the Gage spokespeson explains. “Equally important to us is the fact that this new product is environmentally safer than previous acid-based formulas. It represents a non-chlorinated cleaning solution that also is both people and equipment friendly.”

Headquartered in Ferndale, Michigan, Gage also has operations in Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Belgium, Brazil and Mexico. The company is a leader in the field of sustainable manufacturing and solvent remanufacturing systems. Its paint-system solvent-recovery processes are used in a majority of North America’s automotive assembly plants and have attracted the attention of European and Asia-Pacific manufacturers as well. Additional information on Gage is available on the Internet at www.gageproducts.com.