Oxygen and Clorine Cleaning
Thermo Electric has established an “Oxygen and Chlorine Cleaning” facility at its West Chester, PA plant. The facility has been equipped to handle the growing number of requests for cleaned sensors that are required by many industrial applications.
The establishment of this facility allows Thermo Electric to dramatically reduce turnaround time from third party vendors and enhance its ability to service its customer needs on a timely and expedient basis.
OXYGEN CLEANING IN ACCORDANCE WITH ASTM G 93-96
Adequate contamination control in oxygen system is imperative to minimize hazards and component failures as a result of contamination. This method of cleaning for service in oxygen environments eliminates contamination problems encountered in the use of enriched air, mixtures of oxygen with other gases, or any other oxidizing gas which may be solved by the same cleaning procedures applicable to metallic materials thereby preventing ignition by a variety of mechanisms such as particle impact, mechanical or pneumatic impact.
Contaminants are sub classed into three categories; organic, inorganic and particulate which is a general term used to describe a finely divided solid of organic or inorganic matter, including metals.
Thermo Electric uses a solvent cleaning method, a principal procedure for the removal of soluble organic contaminants suitable for use with most metals. Our cleaning facility is in strict compliance with federal, state and insurance regulations.
All equipment is pre-clean and post clean inspected for verification in order to detect any breaches of cleaning. Methods include:
Bright White Inspection: A visual inspection under bright white light to identify larger particulate, shavings, or grease contamination.
UV Light Inspection: Using ultraviolet light to visualize fluoresced contaminants such as smaller participates, oil or grease compounds.
Wipe Test: Using a clean lint free cloth to wipe surface of product to visualize either under bright white light or ultraviolet light to identify contaminants.
Mirror Test: Solvent is placed in contact with a cleaned surface and then collected in a clean vial. Droplets from the vial are transferred onto a clean mirror along with droplets of unused solvent as a control. Upon evaporation the area that contained the solvent is compared with the clean solvent area.
Equipment is sealed in polyethylene bags and labeled “Oxygen Cleaned”, documented and certified.
CHLORINE CLEANING
To assure that dry chlorine systems are protected from the intrusion of moisture the Chlorine Institute, Inc. has provided pamphlets to support the chlor-alkali industry and serve the public with human health and environmental protection in the distribution and use of chlorine.
Thermo Electric provides cleaning and packaging of equipment in accordance with pamphlet #6. Equipment suitable for use in piping systems at temperatures between -150°F(101°C) and 300°F(149°C).
This assures that dry chlorine systems are thoroughly cleaned and dried and are free of oils, grease and other materials which would react with chlorine to cause, fire corrosion, pressure increase, or harmful deposits.