Cleanliness Requirements in the Chemical Industry
-
Published:1937
Download citation file:
Cleanliness has been an attribute of major importance since the beginning of the chemical industry. It affects capital costs, operating costs, and product quality. The importance of cleanliness as well as the required degree of cleanliness has increased as technology has advanced to the point that some products now require expensively constructed and operated clean rooms.
When specifying cleanliness requirements, it should be remembered that the word clean, defined as freedom from extraneous matter, has a wide tolerance range and that the cost of cleaning increases exponentially with the degree of perfection specified. In order to ensure the required degree of cleaning at the proper cost level, the cleaning procedures should be specified or approved by the purchaser.
Many cleaning problems in the chemical industry have been reduced or resolved through the use of stainless steel due to the inherent property of being easily cleaned and its tendency to remain clean.
Four classes of cleaning requirements for stainless steels with the related cleaning procedures are described in this paper. In addition, comments are included relative to design considerations.