# Presentation: 124148

## Facility Maintenance Using Biobased Materials:

- Opportunities to Green Your Cleaning
- Case Study Conducted at
- Edith Nurse VA Medical Center
- Bedford, MA 2007
- Jason Marshall, ScD
- Laboratory Director

## Why Biobased Products

- May 2002, Section 9002 of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act (Public Law 107-17)
- Federal agencies are mandated by this law to purchase and promote the purchase of biobased products
- United States Department of Agriculture
- Memorandum in January of 2005
- Establishing the USDA biobased procurement program
- Intent to increase the purchase and use of biobased products by Federal Government

## What is Biobased

- A biobased product as defined by the Secretary of Agriculture
- To be a commercial or industrial product (other than food or feed) that is composed, in **whole or in significant part**, of biological products or renewable domestic agricultural materials (including plant, animal, and marine materials) or forestry materials.

**www.ofee.gov/gp/USDA_Secretary's_Memo.pdf**

## Whole or Significant Part

- What does that really mean?
- Lab set up four categories
- Whole		100%
- Significant	≥50%
- Partial		≥25%
- Minimal	<25%
- must be greater than 0%

## Biobased Sources

- General source of materials in products* *
- Soy
- Corn
- Plant
- Citrus
- Other

## Find Out What Your Potential Applications Are

- Identify areas for using biobased products
- All purpose cleaning
- Hard surface cleaning
- Glass Cleaning
- Carpet Cleaning
- Floor finish & stripping
- Vehicle maintenance

## Compare Current Products with Alternatives

- Evaluate traditional cleaning products for performance under controlled setting
- Evaluated bio-based alternatives under laboratory conditions as well
- Green Seal GS37 certification process
- Industrial and Institutional Cleaners
- http://www.greenseal.org/certification/standards/gs37.pdf
- Green Seal GS40
- Industrial & Institutional Floor-Care Products
- http://www.greenseal.org/certification/standards/gs40.pdf

## Start Small

- Pilot Possibilities
- Floor Stripping and Cleaning

## Process IFloor Finish Stripping

- Product Identification
- Lab Testing
- Field Testing
- Evaluate EH&S
- Evaluate Economics
- Recommendations for Change

## Biobased Product Identification Floor Finish Stripping

- Existing biobased floor strippers
- Not many out there
- Lab’s website: www.cleanersolutions.org
- Wax removal
- Coating removal
- Web Search

## Lab’s Website

## Partial List of Possible Floor Finish Strippers

## Product Profile

## Lab Testing Floor Finish Stripping

- Bench scale testing
- Preliminary screening
- Manual wipe
- Mechanical abrasion
- Pre-pilot testing
- Floor stripping machine

## Screening Floor Finish Stripping

- Identified over 50 possible biobased products
- Established a screening process to aid in the identification of products that may be effective
- Necessary as many of the identified products were not manufactured for floor stripping applications
- Generally designed to remove other types of coating systems

## Screening ResultsFloor Finish Stripping

- Reduced the number of possible products down to 20
- Half of were very effective
- Half were partially successful

## Bench Testing FloorFinish Stripping

- Vinyl composition floor tile
- Scrub pad
- Stripping was performed at 175 rpm
- Using pad attached to variable speed drill
- 15 effective products
- Some had strong odors

## Bench Testing Results Floor Finish Stripper

| Manufacturer | Product |
| --- | --- |
| Franmar Chemical | Soy Strip |
| Franmar Chemical | Soy Gel |
| SoySafe | SoySafe Graffiti Remover |
| Vertec BioSolvents | Household Paint Stripper |
| Spartan | Green Solutions |
| Spartan | Green Solutions |
| The Clean Environment Co | Cycle-Strip |
| Ecolink | Safe Strip |
| Inland Technologies Inc | EP 921 |
| Finger Lakes Chemical | Pine Strip |
| Green Products | aMAIZeing |

## Lab Testing Floor Finish Stripping

- Testing with dilutions and full strength
- Included newly received products
- Testing process in the laboratory was closely matched with typical stripping process
- Odor evaluations

## Field Testing Floor Finish Stripping 

- Top performers were evaluateed on site
- Work completed by VA staff
- Was witnessed by Lab staff to help with objectivity
- Survey workers
- During stripping with existing solvent
- With biobased alternative

## Evaluation Form For Janitorial Cleaning

**User Name:**
**Location Used:**
**Square footage cleaned**:
**Name of Product:**
**Product Manufacturer:**
**Section I:  Surfaces Cleaned**** **
- 	□ Appliances
- 	□ Carpets
- 	□ Countertops
- 	□ Ovens
- 	□ Furniture such as desks and chairs (specify type, if possible):
- 	□ Fixtures (faucets, etc.)
- 	□ Hardwood floors
- 	□ Laundry
- 	□ Marble or ceramic
- 	□ Tiles of any other kind
- 	□ Mirrors and glass
- 	□ Toilet, sink or tub (porcelain/fiberglass)
- 	□ Windows
- 	□ Other (describe):

**Section II: Soils Removed **
- 	□ Dirt
- 	□ Dust
- 	□ Food
- 	□ Fingerprints
- 	□ Grease/grime
- 	□ Personal care products such as hair spray, etc. (please specify):
- 	□ Scuff marks
- 	□ Soap scum
- 	□ Stains (please specify):
- 	□ Floor coating/wax
- 	□ Other (describe):

## Evaluation Form

**Section III: Cleaning Methods **
- Application: □ Wipe   □ Scrub (manual)   □ Soak   □ Spray  □ Mechanical agitation
- 		   □ Other (describe):
- Supplies Used:   □ Cloth   □ Paper towel   □ Mop    □ Pad (describe):
- 		           □ Other (describe):
- Cleaning Time (in minutes):
- Cleaning Cycle (daily, weekly, etc.):
**Performance Comparison:****	****	****	****	****	****	****Yes  No**
- 1. Does this product perform satisfactorily overall?				  □      □
- 2. Does this product take longer than normal?      				  □      □
- 3. Does this product require more effort to achieve needed level of cleaning? 	  □      □
**Health Comparison:****	****	****   ****	****	****  ****	****	****Yes  No**
- 1. Does this product have any unpleasant odor?				  □      □
- 2. Are there any skin problems with this product?				  □      □
- 3. Is there any eye irritation with this product? 				  □      □
- 4. Is there any respiratory reaction to this product?				  □      □
**ANY OTHER ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:**

## EH & S Comparisons

- Current Product
- Top alternative products evaluated in the lab and on-site
- SSL’s Safety Screening
- TURI’s Pollution Prevention Options Analysis System (P2OASys)

## Lab Safety Screening

- EHS analysis
- Provides quick screening of cleaning alternatives based on SSL’s 5 parameters
- Weighted equally
- Volatile Organic Content
- Global Warming Potential
- Ozone Depletion Potential
- National Fire Protection Association hazard rating or Hazardous Material Information System ratings
- pH

## Safety ScreeningExample of Floor Finish Stripping 

| Safety Screening Values | VOC | GWP | ODP | HMIS/NFPA |  |  | pH | Total Score | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Products |  |  |  | H | F | R |  | 50 max | 1 = best |
| ProStripper (non-bio) | 250 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12.1 | 29 | 6 |
| Super Stripper | 263 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 11.8 | 38 | 1 |
| EnviroCare Floor Stripper | 250 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 10.6 | 37 | 3 |
| Whistle Jet Cleaner  | 114 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 12.3 | 37 | 3 |
| Super Orange Jel  | 153 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 12.2 | 38 | 1 |
| Cycle Strip | 200 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 12.4 | 36 | 5 |

## Safety Screening

- Should not be concluded from these results alone that all biobased products are safer with respect to EHS
- A full EHS study should be conducted on the products with better Safety Screening Scores
- P2OASys
- TURI’s 5 Chemical Assessment

## Pollution Prevention Options Assessment System

- P2OASys
- Helps companies determine if TUR options being considered have any unforeseen negative environmental, worker or public health impacts
- Specific process information used to establish baseline of hazards associated with current system

## P2OASys Criteria

| Major Category | Number of Criteria |
| --- | --- |
| Acute human effects | 10 |
| Chronic human effects | 8 |
| Physical hazards | 5 |
| Aquatic hazards | 5 |
| Persistence/bioaccumulation | 5 |
| Atmospheric hazard | 4 |
| Disposal hazard | 4 |
| Chemical hazard | 13 |
| Energy & resource use | 3 |
| Product hazard | 3 |
| Exposure potential | 1 |

## P2OASys Example Summary Table of Floor Finish Strippers

| P2OASys Category  | Pro Stripper | Super Stripper | EnviroCare Floor Stripper | Whistle Jet Cleaner | Super Orange Jel | Cycle Strip |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Acute human effects | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 10 |
| Chronic human effects | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Physical hazards | ND | ND | ND | ND | ND | ND |
| Aquatic hazard | 2 | ND | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| Persistence/ bioaccumulation | 5 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 5 |
| Atmospheric hazard | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Disposal hazard | ND | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Chemical hazard | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Energy/resource use | 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Product hazard | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Exposure potential | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Final | 45 | 37 | 42 | 45 | 41 | 43 |
| Weighted Final; 10 worst | 5.00 | 4.11 | 4.2 | 4.50 | 4.10 | 4.30 |
| Ranking; 1 = best | 6 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 4 |
| ND = no data |  |  |  |  |  |  |

## Two Systems Comparison

| Product | SSL | P2OAYSys |
| --- | --- | --- |
| ProStripper (current) | 6 | 6 |
| Super Stripper | 1 | 2 |
| EnviroCare Floor Stripper | 3 | 3 |
| Whistle Jet Cleaner  | 3 | 5 |
| Super Orange Jel  | 1 | 1 |
| Cycle Strip | 5 | 4 |

## Evaluate Economics

- Product cost
- Current solvent
- Operating cost
- Initial biobased alternatives required longer times
- Some needed to be heated
- New project identified products that operated under same conditions as current product
- Environmental cost
- Current solvent’s components linked to significant negative health, safety, and environmental impacts

## Cost Comparisons Example Floor Finish Stripping 

|  | Purchase Cost $ | Cost based on Dilution Ratios |  |  |  |  |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|  |  | Show Place Finish |  |  | Timesaver Finish |  |  |
| Product | 4 - 1 gallon bottles | Dilution ratio  | Cost / gal | % Increase over current cost | Dilution
ratio | Cost / gal | % Increase over current cost |
| ProStripper | 38 | 1:4 | 1.90 | -- | 1:4 | 1.90 | -- |
| Super Stripper | 45 | 1:3 | 2.81 | 48 | 1:4* | 2.25 | 18 |
| EnviroCare Floor Stripper | 107 | NT | NA | NA | 1:3 | 6.72 | 253 |
| Whistle Jet Cleaner  | 130 | 1:10 | NE | NA | 1:10 | NE | NA |
| Super Orange Jel  | 115 | 1:10 | NE | NA | 1:5 | NE | NA |
| Cycle Strip | 57.31 | 1:2 | 4.78 | 151 | 1:3 | 3.58 | 89 |
| NA - not applicable; NE - not effective |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| *Testing not completed on-site, but assumed to be effective at this dilution based on laboratory testing |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |

## Summary Floor Finish Stripping 

| Assessment Criteria |  | Pro Stripper reference |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Technical | Biobased content | 0% |
|  | Dilution Used | 1:4 |
|  | Time to clean | 10-15 minutes |
|  | Odor | Strong |
|  | Lab Performance | Effective |
|  | Field Performance | Effective |
| Environmental | SSL Safety Screening | 29/50 |
|  | P2OASys | 5.00/10.00 |
| Economic Costs | Direct Cost | $38 for 4-1 gallon bottles |
|  | Dilution Cost | $1.90/gallon |
| Purchasing Preferences          | AbilityOne  Program – JWOD or SDVOB / SVO supplied | On JWOD list |

| Super Stripper | EnviroCare Floor Stripper | Cycle Strip |
| --- | --- | --- |
| + | + | + |
| - | - | - |
| = | = | = |
| + | + | + |
| = | = | = |
| + | - | - |
| + | + | + |
| + | + | + |
| - | - | - |
| =/- | - | - |
| - | - | - |

## Process II Hard Surface Cleaning

- Product Identification
- Lab Testing
- Field Testing
- Evaluate EH&S
- Evaluate Economics
- Recommendations for Change

## Laboratory Testing Hard Surface Cleaning

- Identified cleaning products
- Diluted to the vendor recommended concentrations for all purpose cleaning
- Fiberglass and plastic coupons
- All Purpose Soil
- SSL Soil #3: Hucker’s Soil
- Manual cleaning process
- Gardner Straight Line Washability unit

## Overall Summary Hard Surface Cleaning 

| Assessment Criteria |  |  |  |  |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|  |  | Current Products |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Technical | Biobased content | 0% |  |  | + | + | + | + | + | + | + | + | + | + | + | + |
|  | Dilution Used | 1:12.8 | N/A |  | + | + | - | + | + | + | + | - | - | - | - | - |
|  | Time to clean | 5 minutes |  |  | = | = | = | = | = | = | = | = | = | = | = | = |
|  | Odor | Strong |  |  | = | - | + | + | + | - | + | + | + | + | + | + |
|  | Lab Performance | Effective |  |  | = | - | + | - | = | = | + | + | +/= | + | - | NT |
|  | Field Performance | Effective |  |  | + | - | = | - | - | = | - | + | =/- | - | =/- | - |
| Environmental | SSL Safety Screening | - |  | 48/50 | - | = | - | - | - | - | - | + | = | = | - | - |
|  |  | 38/50 |  | + | + | + | + | + | + | - | + | + | + | + | + | + |
|  | P2OASys | - |  | 3.5/10 | - | - | + | = | - | - | - | - | = | = | = | - |
|  |  | 5.22/10 |  | + | + | + | + | + | + | + | + | + | + | + | + | + |
| Economic Costs | Direct Cost | $20 /gal |  | N/A | + | + | =/- | + | =/- | + | - | + | - | - | - | - |
| Purchasing Preferences          | AbilityOne  Program – JWOD or SDVOB / SVO supplied | Available |  |  | - | = | = | = | = | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |

- Wexcide 128

- Wexpro Neutral Cleaner

- Bio Kleen 130

- EC Neutral Disinfectant

- EC Tough Job 4539

- Low foam all purpose

- Washroom  cleaner

- Restroom Cleaner

- Tribase

- Super Citrus Cleaner N-46

- SC  Multi Surface

- SC Bathroom

- SC Floor Tile

- Odor Ex

## Future Work

- Several projects that could be conducted to increase the amount of biobased products being purchased
- Evaluation of biobased floor finish or other “green” finish can be tested
- So that lower dilutions of biobased floor strippers could be used effectively thus reducing operating costs further
- The expansion of biobased cleaning products beyond the floor finish stripping and hard surface cleaners would be a logical next step
- Glass cleaning
- Bathroom cleaning
- All purpose cleaning activities
- Cleaning of equipment and transport vehicles during maintenance and repairs

## FYI, Heidi Does Do Windows

- for a fee