A Pollution Prevention Approach to Clean Air: Alternatives to Commonly Used Solvents
According to 1996 emission data, North Carolina industries emitted 7,882 tons of methanol, 4,410 tons of toluene, 2,660 tons of methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) and 2,097 tons of methylene chloride (MeCl).
| Tons | 1996 Air Emissions | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8000 | ||||
| 6000 | ||||
| 4000 | ||||
| 2000 | ||||
| 0 | ||||
| Methanol | Toluene | MEK | MeCl | |
| Solvent | ||||
| Table is not drawn to scale. | ||||
Use of these solvents, typically in product formulations (such as adhesives and coatings) and surface cleaning operations, can subject facilities to strict environmental requirements for air quality and hazardous waste management. To prevent or reduce these requirements, a facility should first examine the manufacturing process to determine if a process modification could eliminate or reduce the use of a solvent. If it is determined that a solvent is needed, using the least hazardous material could reduce a facility’s environmental requirements, save money, and reduce employees’ exposure to hazardous chemicals.
When considering a material change, the following steps may be helpful:
- Establish a project team
- Assess current operations
- Evaluate product or cleaning requirements
- Research alternatives
- Evaluate and rank alternatives
- Test alternatives
- Implement new system
Information about solvent, coating, and adhesive alternatives are available on the Internet at these addresses:
- Solvent Alternatives: Solvents Substitute Data System and SAGE (Solvents Alternatives Guide)
- Coatings Alternatives: CAGE (Coatings Alternative Guide)
- Adhesive Alternatives: An adhesive alternative Internet resource currently is under development by the EPA. The project manager is Chester Vogel, EPA, (919) 541-2827.
The DPPEA can assist with specific facility questions regarding alternative solvents. Contact Norma Murphy at (919) 715-6513 for further support with locating an acceptable alternative.
See Solvent Reduction Case Studies for examples of alternative solvent usage.
