Methylene Chloride Analysis

Methylene chloride, also known as dichloromethane and methylene dichloride, is a clear, colorless liquid with a slightly sweet odor that is primarily used as an industrial solvent, but also as a strong paint remover and paint thinner.

Methylene chloride is a solvent commonly found in paint and varnish strippers used in residential buildings to remove paint or varnish coatings from various surfaces. It is also used in bathtub repair.

Methylene chloride is most prominently used industrially in the manufacture of paint strippers, pharmaceuticals and process solvents. It is also used as an extraction solvent in the food and beverage manufacturing industry. For example, methylene chloride is used to extract caffeine from unroasted coffee beans and tea leaves to make decaffeinated coffee and tea. In the processing of spices, hops extract for beer and methylene chloride are used in other flavorings.

Methylene chloride is used to degrease metal surfaces and parts such as aircraft components and railway tracks and equipment. Lubricating and degreasing products used in automotive products, for example for gasket removal and preparation of metal parts for a new gasket, contain methylene chloride. Automotive professionals use a vapor methylene chloride degreasing process to remove oils and grease from car transistor parts, diesel engines, and aircraft components and spacecraft assemblies. Vapor degreasing techniques based on methylene chloride enable fast and safe cleaning of metal parts in conveying systems.

It is also used in laboratories to extract chemicals from plants or foods for drugs such as methylene chloride, steroids, antibiotics, and vitamins. Medical equipment is cleaned quickly and efficiently with methylene chloride cleaners without corrosion problems or damage to heat sensitive parts.

The American Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) set the allowable limit for exposure to methylene chloride in industrial environments at 25 parts per million air over an eight-hour period.

However, the American Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has banned the use of methylene chloride in all paint removers for consumer use.

Our organization also provides methylene chloride analysis services with its trained and expert staff and advanced technological equipment, among the numerous test, measurement, analysis and evaluation studies it provides for businesses in various sectors.