Emulsifiers General Information Emulsifiers allow non-water-soluble soils to be cleaned with aqueous solutions. For example, an emulsion cleaner can be used to clean petroleum-based soils. The emulsion cleaner is then rinsed off using an aqueous rinse. Most emulsion cleaners use a solvent suspended in an aqueous base. The solvents may include alcohol, methylene chloride, methyl chloroform (TCA), terpenes, or petroleum products such as kerosene or petroleum oil. Emulsion cleaners are effective at removing organic contaminants. They are recommended for removing carbonized grease and oil and for buffing or lapping compounds. Spray application and immersion cleaning are the most common cleaning processes that use emulsifying agents. Emulsions can be broken by an acid or a salt, causing the solvent to separate from the water. This can be an effective way to control waste streams; i.e., contaminated solvent can be separated from water and be reused or disposed of separately. Emulsion cleaners are very similar to semiaqueous cleaners. Emulsifying agents may be added to aqueous solutions to help clean nonsoluble soils. State Information | Glossary | Conversion Checklist | Comments Home | Process Advisor | Alternatives | Links | Search All SAGE material, Copyright© 1992, Research Triangle Institute Last Update: 14 March 1995 sage@rti.org http://clean.rti.org/alt.cfm?id=em&cat=gi