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Thursday, November 30, 2006

INTERPHEX2007 Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Conference and Exhibition

Question:
Will Alconox, Inc attend the INTERPHEX2007 Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Conference and Exhibition?

Answer:
Alconox, Inc will be attending the INTERPHEX2007 Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Conference and Exhibition at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City, NY April 23 - 25, 2007. Stop by our booth # 3136 for your free detergent samples, free copy the Guide to Critical Cleaning or Aqueous Cleaning Handbook! Great opportunity to "Ask Alconox" and get experts advice about your industrial cleaning needs!
Mark your calendars for INTERPHEX2007 Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Conference and Exhibition!

When the pharmaceutical industry gets together for its largest annual event, important things happen. INTERPHEX gathers all of the resources, equipment, technologies, ideas, strategies, suppliers, and partners to help optimize every aspect of your operation, from process development and R&D through manufacturing and packaging. The comprehensive conference program offers the views and opinions of industry leaders, as well as strategic and technical applications. The exhibit floor showcases over 950 leading global companies. There are daily keynotes, networking opportunities, industry awards, plus much more. For more information on INTERPHEX2007 Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Conference and Exhibition please visit http://www.interphex.com/App/homepage.cfm?moduleid=42&appname=100026.

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Pittcon 2007 - Visit Alconox at Booth 2377

Question:
What are the dates, times and location for the Pittcon 2007 exposition and what is Alconox's Booth #?

Answer:
The exposition dates / times for Pittcon 2007 are as follows: Monday - Wednesday, February 26-28, 2007 from 9AM - 5PM Thursday, March 1, 2007 from 9AM - 3PM. The exposition will be located in McCormick Place.

Alconox Inc. booth # 2377, stop by for your free detergent samples, free copy the Guide to Critical Cleaning or Aqueous Cleaning Handbook! Great opportunity to "Ask Alconox" and get experts advice about your industrial cleaning needs!

For more information on 58th Pittsburgh Conference on Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy - Pittcon - Show visit http://www.pittcon.org.

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Pittcon 2007 - Pittsburgh Conference on Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy

Question:
Will Alconox, Inc attend the 58th Pittsburgh Conference on Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy - Pittcon - Show in Chicago 2007?

Answer:
Alconox, Inc will be attending the 58th Pittsburgh Conference on Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy - Pittcon - Show in Chicago on February 26 thru March 1, 2007. Stop by our booth # 2377 for your free detergent samples, free copy the Guide to Critical Cleaning or Aqueous Cleaning Handbook! Great opportunity to "Ask Alconox" and get experts advice about your industrial cleaning needs!

For more information on the 58th Pittsburgh Conference on Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy - Pittcon - Show visit http://www.pittcon.org/index.html

Thursday, November 16, 2006

Nuclear Power plants need high purity Detergent 8

Problem:
Nuclear power plants need to perform cleaning of reactory cavities, tools and equipment to remove radioactivity. They need cleaners that do not contain chelating agents that can interfere with ion exchange waste treatment and they need cleaners that do not contain trace impurities that can degrade the long term stability of stainless steel.

Solution:
The most widely used Alconox product in nuclear power is Detergent 8. Detergent 8 is used in removing radioactivity from inside the reactor cavity and from tools and equipment used in the reactor cavity. There are two main reasons they like Detergent 8. First, it does not contain any chelating agents that interfere with ion exchange waste treatment to remove the radioactivity from the used wash and rinse solutions. Second, Detergent 8 has very low levels of any impurities that can degrade the long term stability of stainless steel. I have attached the trace analysis showing the purity of Detergent 8 and how it does not contain chlorides, halogens, low melting metals and sulfates. You can see the trace analysis for Detergent 8 above in the tech info and certicates section; select Detergent 8, trace analysis, and press go. The Detergent 8 has been used in manual cleaning and spray power wash cleaning to replace the use of strippable coatings in reactor cavities. One of the advantages of this is that the cleaning can be done without needing to use the "cherry picker" (the bucket on a crane that holds a person to do maintenance procedures high off the ground) inside the reactor cavity so that the outage can be shorter and the cherry picker can be used for other maintenance needs other than cleaning.

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

ROHS compliant detergents

Problem:
In order to sell to European and multi-national customers involved with electronic components, it is often required to use ROHS compliant cleaners and materials the meet the Restriction of Hazardous Substances EU directive 2002/95/EC

Solution:
RE: The Inclusion of any ingredients in Alconox, Inc. cleaners under Guideline 2002/95/EC for the Restriction of Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment (RoHS) The following inclusion statements apply to all the current Alconox, Inc. cleaners: Alconox, Detergent 8, Liquinox, Citranox, Tergazyme, Luminox, Alcojet, Citrajet, Alcotabs, Tergajet, Detojet and Solujet: 1. Alconox, Inc. cleaners are not subject to any of the RoHS directive exemptions; 2. No Pb, Hg, Cd, Cr, polybrominated biphenyls(PBBs), and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) as defined under Guideline 2002/95/EC for the Restriction of Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment (RoHS) are used in the manufacture as ingredients of any of Alconox, Inc. cleaners.; and 3. No trace contaminant of any restricted substance as defined under Guideline 2002/95/EC for the Restriction of Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment (RoHS) exceeds the threshold limit: Restricted Substance. The limit of contaminants of interest in allAlconox, Inc Cleaners are: lead (Pb)=Less than 1000 ppm; Mercury (Hg)=Less than 1000 ppm; Cadmium (Cd)=Less than 100 ppm; Chromium (Cr)=Less than 1000 ppm; polybrominated biphenyls(PBBs)=Less than 1000 ppm; polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs)=Less than 1000 ppm. These limits are all compliant with ROHS guidelines.

Click here for more information.

Thursday, November 09, 2006

Discrepancies in phosphate vs phosphate analysis using a Hach kit on Alcojet

Problem:
When using a Hach water testing method for phosphate analysis, values of 26-28% phosphate were detected when a value of 9% or 8.7% was expected.

Solution:
I can explain the observations about detecting 26%, 27% and 28% phosphate in Alcojet using a Hach analytical method when you are expecting 9%. The kit you are using is detecting ortho-phosphate (PO4 -3) which has a molecular weight of 94.97. The 9% you refer to is elemental P which has a molecular weight of 30.97. Actually if you look on the Alcojet box it contains 8.7% elemental P. This elemental P is present as polyphosphates which needs to be converted to ortho phosphate to be detected by the Hach method. If all the P in Alcojet has been converted to ortho-phosphate, then it will be 26.7% ortho-phosphate as calculated by 94.97/30.97*8.7. Assuming you have acidified your solution according to the Hach sample preparation method which involved boiling in excess acid for 0.5 hrs and the neutralizing with a slight deficiency of base, then you are getting the correct results expressed as ortho-phosphate. I would comment that the variation in your results might be attributed to a couple of causes that you might want to be aware. of. One, you need to be careful to boil in acid with the full 5.25 N H2SO4 for a full 0.5 hour. If you do not do this, then some of the polyphosphates may not be converted to ortho-phosphate and you will get a false low reading. Another possible source of variation is failure to take a representative large enough sample of Alcojet. You should use at least 10 g of Alcojet to make your stock solutions from in order to avoid sampling error from this non-homogeneous dry blended powder. If you take too small a sample of Alcojet, you run the risk of getting a few extra particles or few particles short of polyphosphates which will cause variation in your results. By taking a 10 g sample of Alcojet to start with, a few particles here and there is not enough to cause variation in your results at the level of precision of this method. By converting the reported results from % ortho-phosphate to % phosphorous, perfectly usable data results as follows: 28% ortho-phosphate = 9.1 % phosphorous; 27% ortho-phosphate = 8.8 % phosphorous; 26% ortho-phosphate = 8.5% phosphorous. The average value is 8.8% phosphorous which is quite in agreement with the 8.7% expected value. The variation may be acceptable, or by improving the boiling in acid step or the size of the sample from the Alcojet box you may be able to reduce the variation in your results. It may simply be that the precision of this analytical method is such that you will get this level of variation. From having worked with similar kits in the past, I suspect you can get less variation in your results if you want to work on it.

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Tuesday, November 07, 2006

How to find an NFPA or HMIS safety rating for Alconox, Inc. cleaners

Problem:
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA 704) ratings and the Hazardous Material Identification System (HMIS) ratings are not on all technical bulletins and msds. You need to know which document to look at to get these ratings.

Solution:
The HMIS and NFPA ratings for Alconox, Inc. cleaners are found on the ANSI format msds available at the alconox website in the top center of the page by selecting the cleaner brand, selecting msds, clicking go, and then clicking on ANSI (international) - the msds will come up and the two ratings are in section 15. The National Fire Protection association created the NFPA 704 chemical labeling system which is intended to provide basic information to fire fighting, emergency, and other personnel, enabling them to more easily decide whether to evacuate the area or to commence emergency control procedures. It was also intended to provide them with information to assist in selecting fire fighting tactics and emergency procedures. In addition to these original goals, this standard provides laboratory personnel with an invaluable tool to help in establishing the appropriate level of personal protection that is required for working with a material and the correct method of storage and use that should be employed. NFPA 704 provides a simple, easy to recognize and understand system of markings that provides information regarding the hazards of a material and the severity of these hazards as they relate to handling, fire prevention, exposure and control. It should be used in conjunction with other chemical labeling systems to maximize safe usage and storage of hazardous materials. The NFPA 704 system is based on a diamond shaped marking that is divided into 4 regions, each assigned a color, and a numerical rating in each region. The regions depict health hazard, fire hazard, reactivity hazard and a region to indicate a reactivity with water, or other specific hazards if water reactivity is not an issue. The Hazardous Materials Identification System, HMIS, was developed by the National Paint and Coatings Association in the early 1970's for use as an in-plant labeling system. The HMIS rating is a color-coded, alphanumeric system which gives information about the health, flammability and reactivity of the chemical in question. The system rates a material from a minimal hazard through a serious hazard. It also recommends the appropriate personal protective equipment to be worn when handling the particular chemical.

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Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Cleaning high quality zerodure substrates for multilayer optical coatings

Problem:
Zerodur optical substrates that will have multiple optical coatings applied require the removal of particles, contaminants, soils to assure proper coating and coating performance.

Solution:
To clean the zerodur substrates clean in warm (circa 50-55 deg C) 1% Liquinox in an ultrasonic bath followed by a thorough rinse in high purity water, preferably deionized or reverse-osmosis water.

Click here for more information.