Silicone Extraction 

Cool Clean Technologies’ silicone extraction – outgassing system: Enertia™ successfully extracts volatiles from silicones and other elastomers.

A common problem related to the use of silicone elastomers is out-gassing of un-reacted volatiles. The compounds that outgas can coat surfaces, contaminate processes, or leach into adjacent fluid streams. An accepted method to minimize these escaping volatiles is to apply an extended curing process to the elastomer.

Many manufacturers utilize the standard practice of a vacuum bake-out, which can take up to 72 hours and greatly lengthens the manufacturing progress. With Cool Clean’s Enertia – outgassing technology, the same result is achieved in only 3 hours.

Selective Extraction is performed, by exposing the component to Liquid Carbon Dioxide (LCO₂) under carefully controlled conditions. 

The LCO₂ is non-toxic, non-flammable, non-corrosive, odorless, chemically stable, and acquired from recycled sources (it does not contribute the global emissions of CO₂). 

LCO₂ has several characteristics, which make it an ideal extraction agent for removing volatiles from elastomers, just to name a few: 

• LCO₂ has an affinity for silicones and other volatile components
• LCO₂ can easily diffuse into porous elastomeric structures
• LCO₂ has very low surface tension. As a result, when the elastomer is exposed to LCO₂, it first penetrates and solubilizes un-cured and non-cross-linked compounds, forming a solution, which diffuses out of the elastomeric matrix, and into the bulk of the chamber. Studies have shown that this process does not materially change most elastomers and has advantages over traditional bake-out and vacuum bake-out alternatives. 

Cool Clean’s Enertia™ system does not impact electrical characteristics, continuity, insulation, dielectric strength, and is widely accepted in the aerospace and medical industries.

Contact Cool Clean with any questions regarding your silicone extraction – outgassing needs