Instructions for using Merasol®

How to Use Merasol in Your Charged System.
To ensure maximum soil removal, whiteness retention, stain removal, and control of static and lint, a Merasol concentration of 1-1/3% should be used. This concentration also provides the maximum degree of safety and protection against wrinkling, shrinkage, redeposition and accumulation of free moisture.

Adding Merasol for the First Time.
To determine the amount of Merasol necessary to charge a system to a 1-1/3% concentration, first calculate the number of gallons of solvent in the system. To arrive at the total, add the volume of solvent in the working tank to that estimated to be in the filter and piping.

Then, use the table below to determine the amount of Merasol to be added for that volume of solvent. If the total volume of solvent in the system differs from the amounts listed in the table, simply add two or more volumes together to get the desired number.

Maintaining the Merasol Charge
Dilution of the detergent concentration occurs whenever new, distilled, or reclaimed solvent is added to the working tank. Use the table to determine the amount of Merasol needed to restore the charge.

It’s Easy to Remember!
For every 10 gallons of solvent, add 17 ounces of Merasol.

Maintaining the Merasol Charge Based on Pounds Cleaned
If reclaimed and distilled solvent are returned directly to the working tank throughout the day, then daily maintenance of the charge can be a simple matter of adding Merasol based on pounds cleaned and normal solvent turnover.

Follow the Simplified Table for Pounds Cleaned.
On average, 2.5 gallons of solvent are reclaimed for every 100 pounds of clothes that are dried if a recovery tumbler or dry-to-dry machine is utilized. To that 2.5 gallons, add the number of gallons normally returned from other sources, (such as distillation) per 100 pounds of cleaning. The total of these dilution sources is called “solvent turnover.”

In plants where a recovery tumbler is not used, determine the total volume of solvent (gallons) normally returned from other sources per 100 pounds of cleaning.

Simplified additions table

This simple method of making Merasol additions can be verified periodically using the Universla Test Kit.

IMPORTANT PROCESS OPERATING REQUIREMENTS

To obtain high quality cleaning performance in any cleaning process it is important not to compromise the basic tenets of good drycleaning process design. Therefore, when operating your Merasol process, adherence to well-established standards for running time, optimum solvent maintenance, moisture management, and load classification will help ensure superior cleaning results.

Cleaning Cycle Times - Perchoroethylene Solvent
For normally soiled classifications, a cleaning time of 12 to 15 minutes is needed for consistently best results to remove stains and soils to industry standards.

Cleaning Cycle Times - Hydrocarbon Solvent
The specific gravity and Kb values of hydrocarbon solvents are lower than with perchloroethylene. Therefore, a longer cleaning cycle time of 20 - 25 minutes for normal soil levels is required to achieve sufficient mechanical action and to compensate for a lower solvent Kb value.

Solvent Maintenance - Filtration and Distillation
The removal of solvent-soluble soils in the drycleaning process results in the accumulation of contaminants in the solvent. These solvent-soluble contaminants build-up in the system, and if not controlled, can lead to solvent odors, streak and swale formation and inefficient drying. To control these contaminants it is necessary to replace solvent in the working tank with new, reclaimed and distilled solvent at a rate of 7 to 10 gallons per 100 pounds of clothes cleaned. Since new make-up solvent and reclaimed solvent typically account for less than half of this requirement, the balance must come from distillation or new solvent additions.

Top cleaning performance also requires that the process be designed to ensure thorough removal of insoluble soils and dyes. Therefore, the filtration portion of the process should incorporate good filtration design including the provision for adequate flow rates and the use of activated carbon. In order to avoid problems such as static, lint and poor soil removal, the use of activated clay filtration aids should be avoided. While these adsorptive agents are intended to remove dissolved impurities, they are relatively ineffective at removing greases and oils, and unable to distinguish between undesirable contaminants and the necessary solvent additives such as detergents and fabric finishes.