Aqueous-based cleaning with hydrogen peroxide

The pharmaceutical, military, and fine chemical industries have expressed much interest in eliminating organic solvents from their cleaning operations. Waste organic-cleaning solvents such as acetone, toluene, and methanol have been characterized as hazardous or toxic wastes. As a substitute, 3% hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) was found to effectively clean tenacious residues off glass surfaces. This testing evaluated both moderately elevated pH conditions and iron-based catalysts. Results revealed that 100% of an asphalt residue could be removed from glass surfaces within 105 min when it was submerged in a 3% H₂O₂ solution at pH 9.5 and ambient temperature. Furthermore, the asphalt residue could be completely removed within 45-60 min if the H₂O₂ solution also included 10^-3 M FeCl₃.