Appendix

C9

Estimation of HSP for Soil Mixtures

Figure C9-1

solvent for commercial operation will be based on test

results with this matrix, along with SHE concerns, availability, and any other local considerations.
A sample outcome with this solvent matrix is shown in
Table C9-2. The four Solubility Grade values of 1 mean that
those few solvents dissolved the unknown soil. Blank values,
which might be represented as zeros, mean that the solvent
did not dissolve the unknown soil. The optimization was
completed as noted in Appendix C1. The value of DF as 1
indicates that the optimization was completed satisfactorily.
One might well choose benzyl alcohol, one of the test
solvents in Table C9-2, as the commercial cleaning solvent
for this unknown soil. Its RA value with this soil is less than
8 MPa1/2, and its SHE prole is reasonable (US EPA recommends it as a component of paint stripping formulations).

C. METHODS OF DETERMINING
SOLUBILITY/INSOLUBILITY
The method of detection, or identication, of solubility or
insolubility must be simple, easily and quickly done,
repeatable, low-cost, and require few resources. Otherwise,
it won't be useful in an industrial cleaning enterprise.
Various techniques noted in scientic literatureA,B,C,D,E
are quite useful for research and development purposes.
But they don't meet the requirements noted above.
Several useful and proven methods for determining the
solubility of soil materials exist, which do meet the
requirements above:

Measurement of solid residue on lter media as was

done with bitumen in Appendix C3
Use of various light absorption techniques to quantify
solution turbidity1 or color

1
A useful approach is to purchase a turbidity meter as a piece of used
medical laboratory equipment. One can routinely locate several different
ones on eBay (http://www.ebay.com) at prices less than $100, or
purchase a new meter for $500 to $1000.

650

Residue detection after evaporation

Measurement of weight of soiled metal coupons before
and after exposure to solvents proposed for cleaning of
that soil, and
Application of soil stains2 to glass slides with a swab
and testing the stained slides with the Nordtest Poly
176 methodF for wettability using each test solvent.

Unless there is good reason not to do so, use a binary

(GO/NO GO) classication for Solubility Grades. Strive to
use a simple bright line differentiation.
Use common starting point HSP values for any repetition of the optimization. Organize the optimization with
a spreadsheet, noting the four possible outcomes from
Table C9-2. If a global optimization (DF 1) can't be
produced with various HSP starting points, accept the best
local optimum (DF No. 1).
Don't rely on two-dimensional plots for soil characterization, though inspection of them may provide guidance
about additional solvents which should be tested.
Return to this text matrix when a solvent cleaning process
appears to perform differently and calibrate current
performance against past. One reason for use of solvent
blends rather than single components is the ability to
adjust for such changes without introducing new
chemicals.

D. DETERMINATION OF HSP FOR

SOIL MATERIALS: SUMMARY
With the power of solubility parameters to aid in management of solvent cleaning technology demonstrated in
Appendices C2, C3, and C4, and the ease of measurement of

2
This method has been used by students of physical chemistry at Sam
Houston State University, Huntsville, TX to estimate the HSP of soil
materials. Personal communication by Professor Darren L. Williams,
13 September 2009.