Three types of Biofriendly Solvents can use Renewable Resources, are Biodegradable or are Good Cleaning Solvent Candidates

Several types of alternative solvents may be favorable in the future due to environmental factors, practical applications and the use of renewable resources that could be used to produce them. Many different types of solvents can be made from renewable carbon based feedstocks, but overall it comes down to economics or whether bio-based solvents can be made just as cheaply. Many years ago, this wasn't even a consideration as biobased solvents cost at least several times more than petroleum based solvents. Advancements in process technologies and materials are allowing bio-based solvents to be made a bit more cost competitive. In this essay, three types of eco-friendly alternative solvents are examined towards practical applications that will be very much in demand. These solvents are also compared as to their biodegradability and reuse of renewable resources. These three types of solvents are proplene carbonate, ethyl lactate and methyl soyate. The first two can be made from renewable resources and the last is made from plant sources. While the last two are mainly biodegradable, therefore their practical usage could be meant for cleaning purposes with solvents. Soy esters and ethyl lactate can be used in formulations for various types of cleaning products, where usually just a component is made from one of these types of biosolvents. Products using these solvents are sold on the markets, the other day I found cleaner advertised to contain ethyl lactate that was an epoxy & adhesive cleaner. Ethyl lactate could be used in more cleaning products but it's cost of production is fairly high compared to other cleaning solvents. For example, methylene chloride costs around 30-35 cents per pound while it costs around $1.50 - $2.00 per pound to make ethyl lactate [ 1. K. Watkins 2002 ]. Of course, this was several years ago and it has been claimed that improvements in technology are cutting these costs by close to half. Ethyl lactate can be made with carbohydrate renewable resources that produce lactic acid from fermentation. Ethyl lactate is very non-toxic and friendly towards the environment and human health. For example, even though it is a volatile organic chemical it would not cause atmospheric pollution such as ozone depletion, in addition, the FDA considers Ethyl Lactate so non-toxic for human consumption that it could be used as an ingredient in food products [ 2. S. Aparacio et al 2009 ].

Soybean based esters like those used in biodiesel are made from crushed soybean oil. Soy esters like Methyl Soyate can then be produced and be used in a number of cleaning product formulations such as those used in cleaning applications like degreasing parts, concrete & graffiti surface cleaners, ink & adhesive removers and parts washing. Since methyl soyate is made directly from soybeans it is not considered as produced from renewables, but it is an attractive solvent because it has low eco-toxicity and may have other environmentally friendly applications such as it's use as a specific lubricant. Propylene carbonate is a solvent that can be partially made from renewable sources. It has many favorable properties as use for a solvent such as a high boiling point. Propylene carbonate can be made from the combination of an epoxide and carbon dioxide produced over a catalyst [ 3. Z. Bu et al 2010 ]. Carbonates in general could be used in helping to make products from organic synthesis reactions when used as a supporting solvent or even chemical feedstock. For example, DMC (dimethyl carbonate) - can replace Phosgene in chemical synthesis reactions. Phosgene is known as a toxic chemical. Carbonate solvents themselves can serve as starting materials for the production of plastics called polycarbonates which are used in a large number of goods which include automotive materials and electronic parts [ 4. J. Parrish et al 2000 ]. Most of the these eco-friendly can be used in a variety of applications such as those mentioned for carbonate solvents. In fact, several types of carbonates are used as electrolyte material in batteries. Ethyl lactate also has a variety of purposes in the semiconductor and electronics industry, as it can be used to exclusively clean electronic parts replacing the need to use halogenated type solvents it can also be used as a solvent to produce various electronic devices. These environmentally friendly solvents can help drive forth the use of renewable resources towards the end of sustainable products which do not solely rely on petroleum resources. The practicality towards their use comes down to overhead costs and experimental imagination towards their practical application. For example, the biomedical and pharmaceutical areas also have great if not greater needs to implement the use of 'Green Solvents' towards production. A large goal of these industries is to become very eco-friendly in a matter of decades. The use of soybeans for alternative products other than food products becomes a questionable issue, however, the author feels that they should be acceptable for overall use until better natural products are invented towards similar product purposes.

REFERENCES

1. "A Solvent Business: Ethyl Lactate Seeks to Replace Work horses like Acetone and Methylene Chloride" Chemical and Engineering News vol 80 no 2 pgs 15-16 [2002] by K. Watkins

2. "The Green Solvent Ethyl Lactate : An Experimental & Theoretical Characterization" Green Chemistry vol 11 pgs 65-78 [2009] by S. Aparacio, R. Alcalde

3. "Synthesis of Propylene Carbonate from Carbon Dioxide using trans-dichlorotetrapyridine-ruthenium III as catalyst" Applied Organicmetallic Chemistry vol 24 issue 11 pgs 813-816 [2010] by Z.Bu, Z.Wang, L.Wang, S.Cao

4. "Perspectives on Alkyl Carbonates in Organic Synthesis", Tetrahedron vol 56 pgs 8207-8237 [2000] by J.Parrish, R.Salvatore, KW Jung

KEYWORDS: Ethyl Lactate, Methyl Soyate, Soybean Ester Solvents, Propylene Carbonate, Dimethyl Carbonate, Carbon Dioxide used to Produce Solvents, Cleaning Solvents, Degreasing and Parts Cleaning Solvents, Solvents in Electronic Industry, Polycarbonates, Production of Solvents using Renewable Resources, Eco-friendly Solvents, Biodegradable Solvents, Non-Ozone depleting Solvents

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