Comparisons With Other Purging Methods
To compare ASACLEAN with another product type, first click the “Select a Product Type” heading and choose a product from the list. To select another product, click the heading again and select another product type.
| Overview |
| Odor |
| Abrasiveness |
| Residue Potential |
| Effectiveness: Color & Material Changes |
| Effectiveness: Carbon & Color Deposit Removal |
| Preparation/Mixing Time |
| Purging/Hold-up Time |
| Machine Hazard |
| Personal Hazard |
| ASACLEAN has a high affinity to other polymers and a low affinity to metal. It works best using agitation and turbulence to combine with polymers and/or contaminants in order to remove them from the system. |
| Low – Typical styrenic or olefinic odors which most processors find non-offensive. |
| Low (except for glass-filled EX Grade, which is minimally-abrasive due to short residence time within the machine). |
| Low – ASACLEAN is specifically designed to have a low affinity to metal surfaces which contributes to its low-residue properties. |
| High – ASACLEAN is specifically designed to have a high affinity to other resins and colors. |
| High – ASACLEAN is specifically designed to have a high affinity to colors and contaminants, including scrubbing additives for improved cleaning. |
| None |
| No soak time required. Fast, complete results typically on the first purge. |
| None |
| None |
| This type of purge is a semi-molten material that physically displaces resins and contaminants by abrasive scouring action. |
| Moderate |
| High |
| High |
| Fast. Unsatisfactory performance due to high residue potential. |
| Fast, complete results. |
| None |
| None |
| Cast acrylic does not melt completely. May damage screws (flights and tips), check rings, and other anciliary components. Not suitable for hot runner cleaning. |
| None |
| This type of purge combines a semi-molten material with a carrier resin, typically PE. The carrier resin serves to reduce abrasion caused by the cast acrylic. |
| Moderate (cast acrylic odor) |
| Moderate (due to cast acrylic) |
| High – casty acrylic does not melt completely |
| Average |
| Bulk of product is polyethylene resin, whose sole purpose is a carrier for cast acrylic. Amount of cast acrylic may not be adequate for sufficient scrubbing of deposits. |
| None |
| None |
| Cast acrylic does not melt completely. May damage screws (flights and tips), check rings, and other anciliary components. |
| None |
| This type of purge utilizes a heat-activated chemical reactant combined with a carrier resin (typically PE). A soak time (generally 15-30 minutes) is required so that the chemical can attack the polymer chain and/or deposits in order to allow removal by the carrier resin. |
| High |
| Low |
| High |
| Slow, complex procedures |
| Weak / ineffective deposit removal |
| Mixing often required with host or virgin resin |
| Soak period required; temperatures typically must be raised to activate chemical |
| None |
| Chemical vapors |
| This purging method simply entails flushing the next processing resin or scrap/regrind resin through the machine. |
| Low |
| Low |
| Moderate. “Layering effect” often occurs in which the purging resin just layers over previous layers of resin and/or contaminants. |
| Very slow process, with often incomplete results. Temperature incompatibility between some resins. |
| Weak/ineffective deposit removal |
| None |
| None |
| None |
| None |
| This type of purge includes a chemical or “soap-like” material that is diluted in a liquid or resin. The surfactant acts as a lubricant which attempts to reduce surface tension between materials and equipment, allowing the carrier resin to remove them from the system. |
| Low |
| Low |
| Moderate |
| Very slow process, with often incomplete results. Temperature incompatibility between some resins. |
| Weak/ineffective deposit removal |
| Mixing with host or virgin resin required |
| None |
| Screw slippage possible |
| Potential for high-temperature steam discharge |
| This type of purge combines inorganic “active ingredients”, likely blowing agents, with a PE carrier. The active ingredients are in a much smaller ratio to the PE carrier. |
| Low |
| Low |
| Low |
| Moderately effective for commodity resin applications, particularly PE and PP. May not be as effective for engineering resins. |
| Mostly polyethylene resin, used as a carrier for the inorganic “active ingredients.” PE doesn’t clean effectively. Inadequate active ingredients to scrub deposits sufficiently. |
| None |
| Minor soak time required |
| None |
| None |
