Developing environmentally friendly industrial solvents

溶剂是大多数化学制造过程所需的反应介质，也是大多数化学制造过程所需的清洗剂

Solvents are required reaction media for most chemical manufacturing processes, cleaning agents for most manufactured materials and key components of paints and coatings. Such solvents, including TEXANOL and NMP, are used as coalescing agents and are classified as Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) by the US EPA. Thus these solvents are presently being avoided by industry and suitable replacements are being sought. To date, efforts to develop suitable alternatives have been not been successful. A local company, TBF Environmental Technology Inc., has been founded to address this problem. Recent efforts have resulted in the identification of new solvents that have been shown to display suitable environmental and regulatory compatibility as replacements for MEK and acetone, which are used in a broad range of applications, including industrial cleaning and degreasing. In initial ENGAGE work with the company, lead research resulted in the identification of potential replacements for PETROLEUM ETHER AND MINERAL SPIRITS. The success of that project inspired renewed efforts to identify replacements for TEXANOL and NMP. Products from TBF Environmental Technology Inc. are being developed as environmentally friendly solvents to assist industries in improving health and safety standards within their organizations and products while maintaining the functional effectiveness of the solvents. This proposal describes a collaborative effort to further the necessary investigations for patent submissions, develop improved products, test new formulations and explore the potential scope of application of these new environmentally friendly solvents.