Dr Ingegärd Johansson, Surface chemistry specialist, Akzo Nobel Surfactants Europe

Being one of the editors of a new Handbook for cleaning/decontamination of surfaces published by Elsevier, I would like to draw your attention to this new tool to be used in development work as well as education of new and experienced co-workers in the field of cleaning.

These volumes contain theoretical chapters about the Physical Chemistry involved in the mechanisms for cleaning in general or focussed on particle removal as well as hands-on information about formulation of cleaning agents for textiles (dry and wet), for general house-hold cleaning, for personal care such as skin, teeth, hair and industrial cleaning i.e. electronics or vehicles. You can find in depth descriptions of the surfaces to be cleaned, frame recipes and tests to check the cleanliness after the cleaning process has taken place.

One of the most extensive chapters covers microemulsions, either formed in situ with the dirt or containing solvents from the start. The latter case offers a combination of the good solubilizing power of water and solvent making it a good substitute for degreasing with solvents resulting in lower VOC and better environmental properties. Other uses are soil remediation and enhanced oil recovery, both being of great importance from an environmental point of view.

One section is dedicated to environmental and historical aspects of cleaning. Here information about biodegradation, ecotoxicity and life cycle assessment can be found. New techniques making surfaces easier to clean like the Lotus effect and antibacteriological effect in coating matrices are treated as well as different analytical tools to characterize the surfaces before and after cleaning.

Ref: Handbook for Cleaning/decontamination of Surfaces, ed Ingegard Johansson and P. Somasundaran, Elsevier, 2007