•  On Oct, 22, 2022
•  admin
•   Detergent, PVA Sponge, Surface Cleaning

In general, PVA sponge properties have show good chemical resistance, however there are still some chemicals which will bring adverse effect to the sponge material.

The PVA sponge consider as a plastic polymer which comes with porous structure. The interconnecting open pore structure perhaps exaggerate the flowing of chemical solution. In general, the plastic polymer is derived from petroleum product, hence it share similar plastic properties. However, it is always preferences to perform physical test between the PVA sponge and respective chemical.

We always carry out chemical resistance test on the PVA sponge to ensure the compatibility.

The Chemical Resistance Test Procedure

Soak the sponge into the chemical solution in order to examine the compatibility. We could soak the PVA sponge in the chemical solution in order to examine the chemical compatibility. Observe the sponge structure change along the soaking process. We could examine the sponge condition along with the soaking time.

1. PVA Sponge Colour Change.
2. Sponge hardness.
3. Pore surface deformation.

The sponge properties shall change within a few hours if the chemical solution is deteriorating the sponge. If the sponge is able to maintain a good condition within 48 hours, chances are the chemical has limited impact to the sponge. Under this circumstance, the sponge damage could be treated as the general sponge aging process.

Damage on the PVA Sponge

Take out the sponge after 10min soaking in the chemical solution. By examine the sponge condition, we could roughly know the chemical resistance ability. The PVA sponge life span will be reduced significantly if the sponge roller is unable to withstand the chemical solution. Observe for the below 2 symptoms:

1. Sponge discolouration. The white colour sponge may change into yellowish. This show the sponge quality is deteriorating as the chemical is accelerate the aging process.
2. Pore collapse. The chemical is breaking down the pore structure and causing the pore collapse. The entire PVA sponge below soft and loss the sponge stiffness. The sponge elasticity also deteriorating.

The PVA sponge may not be suitable for the chemical solution if you are observing the above phenomenon. Under this circumstance, the process engineer has to control the contact time to avoid prolong soaking.

Chemical Resistance List

The PVA sponge chemical resistance always our first priority while we come across a new customer or application. We also check with our customer about the chemical and process before we propose our PVA sponge to the customer.

Furthermore, we will also perform simulation soaking test after understand the chemical uses in the process. Even though this is a tedious and labourous process but we think this is one of the way to show our technical support.

Enclosed are a few cleaning detergents or chemical which we had tested for chemical resistance.

CoolFast Grinding Coolant	Good Resistance
Turboclean Detergent	Good resistance
Hypochlorous Acid	Poor
NS Defoamer	Good Resistance
Kitchen Spray Cleaner	No Good

There is a massive engineering works requires in order to develop a good chemical resistance sponge for your process.

If the sponge roller in your process always in touch with any chemical, we always recommend the user to verify the sponge roller chemical resistance performance. You could also contact DST for assistance in this matter.