CARGO HOLD CLEANING

Chemical Cleaning
Research & Development Proposal
Preliminary Report
New Orleans
Oct / 2007

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Engineering cleaners specific
for cargo hold applications

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Introduction
Science of Cleaning Glossary of Terms
Shipboard cargo residues
Mechanics of Cleaning
Automotive Industry similarities
Present ship board cleaning methods
Product Development

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Science of Cleaning:
Glossary of Terms
Acid - A compound that ionizes in water to produce hydrogen ions. It readily
donates protons to other substances and, when dissolved in water, creates
solutions that conduct electricity, taste sour and turns litmus paper red.
Inorganic acids (sometimes called mineral acids) include sulfuric, nitric,
hydrochloric and phosphoric. Organic acids include acetic, oxalic,
hydroxyacetic and citric. Acids are used in rust removers and hard water stain
removers

Adhesion - One characteristic of soils or films which causes soils and oils to
stick or bond to surfaces making them difficult to remove

Alkali or Base - Describes a solution formed when a base dissolves in water

to form a solution which contains more hydroxide ions than hydrogen ions.
Alkaline solutions have a pH of more than 7, turn red litmus paper blue, and
feel soapy because they react with the skin. Alkalinity is exhibited in solution
by alkalies such as sodium or potassium hydroxide or alkaline salts such as
sodium carbonate. A substance used in some wax strippers, degreasers and
cleaners to assist in soil and finish removal.

Anti-redepositing Agent - An ingredient used in detergents to help prevent

soil from redepositing on surfaces. Sodium carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) is
the most widely used.

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 Biodegradable - The ability of a substance to be broken down into simpler,
smaller parts by a biological process. Many plastics are not biodegradable.

Bleach - A product that cleans, whitens, removes stains and brightens

fabrics.

Builder - A material that upgrades or protects the cleaning efficiency of a

surfactant. Builders inactivate water hardness, supply alkalinity to assist
cleaning, provide buffering to maintain alkalinity, prevents redeposition of soil
and emulsification of oily and greasy soils.

Caustic - Strong alkaline substance which irritates the skin.

Chlorine Bleach - A group of strong oxidizing agents commonly sold in an

approximately 5% solution of sodium hypochlorite. Care should be taken to
never mix chlorine bleach with ammonia or hydrochloric acid.

Compound - A combination of two or more elements, bonded together in

some way. It has different physical and chemical properties from the elements
it is made of. Compounds are often difficult to split into their elements and can
only be separated by chemical reactions.

Detergents - A washing and cleaning agent with a composition other than

soap. Detergents unlike soaps are less sensitive to minerals in water.

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 Dispersing Agent - A material that reduces the cohesive attraction between
like particles.

Electrolytes - Substances capable of conducting an electric current, either in

their pure liquid state or when in solution. Acids, bases and salts are all
electrolytes

Electrostatic Attraction - Attractive force between two oppositely charged

ions.

Emulsification - The action of breaking up fats, oils and other soils into small
particles which are then suspended in a solution.

Enzyme - Protein molecules produced within an organism that are used as

catalysts for biochemical reactions.

Exothermic Reaction - A reaction in which heat is given off to the

surroundings as the products of the reaction are formed. The addition of high
concentrations of sodium hydroxide to water produces an exothermic reaction.

Foam - A mass of bubbles formed on liquids by agitation. Foam can be

unstable, transient or stable depending upon the presence and nature of the
components in the liquid.

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 pH - A measurement of the acidity or alkalinity of a substance. It is expressed
in a number from 0-14. Zero being a powerful acid and 14 being a powerful
alkali. Distilled water is a 7.

Phosphates - A substance that is added to a detergent to increase its water

softening ability.

Polar Solvent - Water is the most common polar solvent.

(Paint Coatings are also polar compounds. In chemistry, polar molecules
attract to each other).

Soils - Describes a wide group of substances that attach themselves to

surfaces creating a pollutant. Soils loosely attach themselves to surfaces by
surface tension, electrical attraction or chemical bonding.

Solvents - A liquid which dissolves another substance. Water is the most

common solvent.

Surface Tension - The attractive forces which liquid molecules have for each
other.

Surfactant - Substances which lower the surface tension of water. These

surface-active agents modify the emulsifying, foaming, dispersing, spreading
and wetting properties of a product.

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 Suspension- The process of a cleaning agent holding insoluble dirt particles
in the cleaning solution and keeping them from redepositing.

Universal Solvent- Water is called the universal solvent because it dissolves

both ionic compounds and polar molecular compounds. Water usually cannot
dissolve nonpolar molecules.

Water Hardness- A measure of the amount of metallic salts found in water.

Hard water can inhibit the action of some surfactants and reduce the
effectiveness of the cleaning process.

Wetting Agent- A chemical which reduces surface tension of water, allowing it

to spread more freely.

Nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPEs) have many uses, primarily as surfactants

in detergent formulations, bioindustrial and domestic. NPEs are presently
being band in many countries. NPEs are in common use for liquid
detergents. NPEs are also used as wetting agents and as dispersants.
Toxicity Nonylphenol (NP), a breakdown product of NPEs, has been shown to
mimic the action of the female hormone estrogen. Concerns have focused on
the potential for NP and NPE to cause feminization in wildlife, such as fish
exposed to NP and NPE contaminated effluents, as well as being a potential
factor in the increasing incidence of reproductive disorders and decreasing
sperm counts in men. Whereas NPE is reasonably readily degradable, its
breakdown product NP is more persistent. The marine industry will be
directly affected as the industry searches for safe alternatives.

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Shipboard cargo residues:
Residues requiring enhanced cleaning:
Carbon Based (coal, petcoke, coke).

Metal Sulphides (Titanium slag, Nickel

slag, Zinc). Ore compound found in nature
containing sulfur. Processed to separate the
compound and recover base metals. Has an
affinity for paint coatings.

Naturally occurring Ore compounds

( Bauxite / Bentonite ) Generally the waters surface
tension, inherit moisture within the compound,
causes material to cling to the ships structures.

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 Cement Cargoes (When hardened, creates a
mechanical bond to cargo hold surfaces).
Oil Based (From stevedoring equipment, leakage
from Cold Rolled Coils).
Iron Oxide (Steel corrosion within cargo holds).

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Metal Sulphides
Natural occurring ores:
Many important metal ores are sulfides. Significant sulfide minerals
include:
arsenopyrite (arsenic and iron)
argentite (silver)
chalcopyrite (iron and copper)
cinnabar (mercury)
galena (lead)
molybdenite (molybdenum)
pentlandite (nickel)
pyrite (iron)
realgar (arsenic)
sphalerite (zinc) and
stibnite (antimony).

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Mechanics Of Cleaning

Cleaning is the simple process of removing contaminates like

dirt and/or oil from a surface. Water alone cleans or washes
off a number of water-soluble soils but it is not effective on oily
soils and soils that show an affinity for the surface in contact.
The automotive industry has created all kinds of cleaners
(liquids, pastes, powders, aerosols, etc.) for all types of
surfaces (metal, glass, paint, plastic, cloth, etc.) for all types of
soils.

Most of these surfaces have a natural resistance to the

cleaning by water by itself, so a component of detergents to
combat this is a wetting agent that "wets" or reduces this
resistance called surface tension.

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Wetting Agents:

Wetting agents in the pictorial displays are often shown as pollywogs: which
have on oil loving portion: and one water-loving portion: which gives the
wetting agent the ability to put its tail into the oil and head into water and pull the two
together. Wetting Agents break down the waters surface tension and allows
detergents to act upon and emulsify residues. Any cleaning that's done generally
has four parameters in the cleaning formula that additively makeup the cleaning
efficiency - they are simply:

TIME + TEMPERATURE + CONCENTRATION + MECHANICS

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Automotive Industry similarities
Chemicals are engineered to clean ingredients of road soil
comprising the following:
AIRBORNE CONTAMINANTS ROAD SOILS
Pollen / Wax based Abraded Concrete
Concrete Dust Tar / Asphalt
Paint Particulates Oils Motor / Hydraulic
Acid Rain Asbestos Brake Dust
Coal Dust Salts
Dirt Dust / non-organic Calcium Chloride
Clay Zinc Oxide (Galvanized Metal)
Industrial Fallout Iron Oxide (Rust)
Chromium Oxide (Chrome)
Nickel Oxide (Chrome and
Stainless Steel Corrosion)
Carbon Brake Dust
Magnesium Chloride
(Salt Water)

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Typical Product in use for the
Automotive Industry
Pine Blue Foam Presoak

Super concentrated pine foaming presoak provides a superior solution of

powerful yet safe cleaners. Its biodegradable surfactants, wetting agents
and water softeners quickly dissolve dirt and grime. This presoak offers
potent cleaning without the use of harmful chemicals that require neutralizers.

This innovative solution breaks the electrostatic bond between the

surface and the calcium and metal ions. It performs well in hot, cold,
hard, soft and acidic water conditions. Foam lends to chemical dispersion.

Application: Non mechanical application.

Mixing Instructions : 1:380

BENEFITS include: Application on wet or dry surfaces / concentrated / ideally

suited for metal sulphide cargoes (Nickel and Titanium slag).

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Present ship board cleaning
methods
Mechanical Cleaning Acid and Chemical (bleach) Wash
HP Water Blast (Cement and ore cargoes)

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INNOVATIONS UNDERWAY
Borrowing from the Automotive Industry the thought is to see whether
practical and feasible to develop a unique line of chemicals to allow
contractors and crew alike greater efficiency cleaning holds.

Not required to use man lift unless mechanical scraping required.

Chemical to be both environment friendly as well as crew friendly. The end

product must not be considered overly dangerous nor require a great deal of
safety equipment to be worn.

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