Bisphenol A Epoxy Resin

Alan,

Any normal solvent will do, but there are many type's out there for certain type's of epoxy or poly based material, so i would suggest aromatic naphtha or NMP -what it stands for ? not clear yet,you can check it out in the internet i guess.Both of the substances are mixed before being used to remove heavy or over the years hard material.

Thank you

Pat J

NMP is N-methylpyrrolidone. It is a common solvent used for making polyurethane water dispersion polymers, where the NMP acts to "fuse" the individual PUD particles once the water has evaporated. NMP has many uses, some due to its very low evaporation rate. Its vapor pressure is 0.29 mm Hg at 68 F. Its flash point is 93 C. NMP is widely used to clean carbon deposits off engine blocks, etc. A novel use fo NMP is to clean dirty oil! Since most oils don't dissolve in NMP at ambient temperature, one adds the dirty oil, heats the mixture to greater than 65 - 70 C, where the NMP dissolved the oil and the "dirt" is extracted into the NMP. Once the mixture is cooled again, the clean oil separates out and can be reclamed. I don't know if this process is widely known or if it is patentable. Also, NMP is a good solvent for hardened epoxy resins!

Be very careful with NMP if you choose to use it. It dissolves concrete, copper, epoxy and most plastics readily. I had a very bad expericence with it in the semiconductor industry. Properly contained it is very useful. Consider how you will get rid of it when done using it. It is hazardous waste in most locals. I keep a warning label for it on my grease board

for details: rbeadle@pcc.edu

Cold Grinding is also an option. ( abrasive side grinder) i would try it first. often times the hard way is the best way...

Or I would try physical removal when oven is 10% above normal operating temp. ever notice that an [home] oven will smoke & fume when temp is raised to a new height. The stuck mat'ls are then unstable, and weak.

solvents... Oven cleaner ( a base), sodium hydroxide etc are useful for heat hardened organic residues like burned saw blades, flux & etc. but the epoxy may be proof against any reasonable solvent. i would avoid acids, which can damage metal and brick even before removing residue. Volatile solvents are just too dangeous to be justified here.

J Bo

OOps! one more cool idea

(i'm a millwright) Get a hand held roto hammer or air chisle, fit a long chisle to it (fabtricate one out of normal length chisle as needed) then you may surgically precisely let the machine wear it off , so if the mess is 6' away in a narrow space, fab a chisle with a 6' haft then its a comfortable job to do. This can be done when oven is hot, also. an air powered needle gun may be all thats neccesary....(12 or more tiny wire chisles in a group, used for scaling )

[cut normal chisle in half, weld into middle, an extention piece]

J Bo

A way to redo concrete floor is using a blastrac or a diamond grinder, it depends how big is your oven and how fast you want the job done. I am guessing it's a small batch oven.

For a steel floor diamond grinder hook-up to vaccum cleaner will work. Using MEK or MIBK will soften the epoxy but the smell!...

There are company like Greensolv manufacturing very effective paint remover. We use their product sometimes. I work for a manufacturer of paints and epoxy floor...

Hope this could help.

NMP, n-methylpyrrolidone, is a good solvent for hardened epoxy resin. NMP has a very low evaporation rate (vapor pressure is 0.29 mm Hg at 68 F). NMP is also used to clean carbon deposits off engine blocks, and it is used to clean dirty oil. Most oils don't dissolve in NMP at ambient temperature, so the dirty oil is added, the mixture heated to 65-70 C, where the oil dissolved in the NMP, which also extracts the "dirt". The solution is then cooled, the clean oil separates out and can be reclaimed.

Is there scope for high-pressure water jetting?

Thank you all for your suggestions. A couple of lads of the shop floor set to with an angle grinder and a sanding disk at the weekend.

Useful to know that NMP is a solvent though

Thanks again

regards

Alan

Vinnegar (acetic acid)