Development of a low pH degreaser for efficient removal of carbonized soil from hard surfaces
Catarina M. S. S. NEVES1, Andreia P. M. FERNANDES2, Ana M. FERREIRA1, Marco SEBASTIĆO2, Ricardo SANTOS2, Joćo A. P. COUTINHO1
1CICECO - Aveiro Institute of Materials, Aveiro, Portugal
2Mistolin S.A., Vagos, Portugal
Soiling and cleaning are ubiquitous in the food sector, from the domestic kitchen to large-scale factories, where grease and fatty soils, especially carbonized ones, are tough to remove. To address this challenge, common commercial degreasers composed of surfactants, organic solvents, phosphate-based scouring agents and alkaline agents are used. By using these chemical-based compounds and high alkaline pH in degreaser formulations, which ensures high efficiency in removing grease, fats and carbonized food-derived soils, these degreasers raise human health and environmental pollution concerns. Therefore, it is essential to develop greener and environmentally friendly degreasers, while maintaining their cleaning efficiency imposed by market demands. Thus, this work aims to develop a simple and ecologic degreaser formulation, with a pH below 11, by applying solvents that ensure the high efficiency of the original degreaser. For that purpose, new aqueous formulations composed of alternative bio-based solvents and catanionic or non-ionic surfactants, some obtained from greener sources, were studied. The efficiency of the new degreaser formulation was studied by abrasion test, which relays on cleaning carbonized soil from two types of surfaces commonly used in kitchens: ceramic and stainless steel. The results obtained showed that even with pH lower than 11, and simple composition (only with a surfactant, a solvent and water), some of the formulations were able to provide higher efficiencies than a commercial product. Briefly, the gathered results provide evidence that it is possible to have more environmentally friendly formulations with the potential to fulfill the cleaning market specific needs.
Acknowledgments
This work was partly developed within the scope of the project CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials, UIDB/50011/2020, UIDP/50011/2020 & LA/P/0006/2020, financed by national funds through the FCT/MECTES (PIDDAC). The authors would also like to thank the European Union – European Structural and Investment Funds, Portugal 2020, Interface Program and Compete 2020 for the financial support of the research project POCI-01-0247-FEDER-045304 – TGbaixopH. Catarina M. S. S. Neves also acknowledges FCT for the CEEC Individual contract (CEEC-IND/01975/2017).