Number
132-EN
Section
General Section
Use
Sector
Manufacture of bulk, large scale chemicals (including petroleum products)
Manufacture of fine chemicals
Function
Cleaning agent
Process
Manual maintenance(cleaning and repair) of machinery
Product category
washing ad cleaning products
Application
cleaing after manufactoring process
Abstract
Enzymes can be used for cleaning after greasy productions. Lipase and alcalase can replace sodium hydroxide solutions for cleaning. The enzymes are gentler to the production equipment compared to sodium hydroxide, a strong base.
Substituted substances
Sodium hydroxide
CAS No. 1310-73-2 EC No. 215-185-5 Index No. 011-002-00-6
Chemical group
Sodium compounds; hydroxides
Classification: hazard statements
H314 Causes severe skin burns and eye damage
Alternative Substances
Alcalase
CAS No. EC No. Index No.
Chemical group
Enzymes
Lipase
CAS No. EC No. Index No.
Chemical group
Enzymes
Reliability of information
Evidence of implementation: there is evidence that the solution was implemented and in use at time of publication
Reason substitution
physical hazards
other reasons
Hazard Assessment
Substance to be substituted: Sodium hydroxide causes severe skin burns and eye damage. Alternative substance: The classification of the enzymes alcalase and lipase in this case story is not known, but some enzymes are allergenic.
Description of Substitution
In former times the company used a strong base, sodium hydroxide, for cleaning after a greasy production of pharmaceutical products. The idea for substituting sodium hydroxide came from another production process within the company, where enzymes are used for meat degeneration. Meat material from abattoirs is a component in the production of the pharmaceutical Heparin. Earlier the meat material was cooked and squeezed to generate a substance for the Heparin production. The company found that by adding enzymes (Lipase and Alcalase) the meat can efficiently be degenerated into protein and fat. The enzymes can then be regenerated and re-used. The new approach also has another advantage. A by-product of Heparin extraction is an organic substance that can be used as an agricultural fertiliser. It contains a number of important nutrients such as nitrogen, sulphur and phosphorus and it can largely replace the use of mineral fertilisers. Earlier this by-product was considered as waste and used for dog food production, now it is sold. The process of degenerating meat is a greasy process. The company realised that enzymes eased the cleaning process after the production of Heparin. Therefore this method was extended to other greasy processes. Lipase and alcalase replaced sodium hydroxide solutions for cleaning production equipment. The enzymes are gentler to the production equipment compared to the strong base, but they are more expensive.
Case/substitution evaluation
The classification of the enzymes is not known, but some enzymes are allergenic. Due to the lack of classification SUBSPORTplus cannot evaluate the substitution according to health and safety for the employees and the environment.
State of implementation
Full capacity
Date and place of implementation
1988, Denmark
Type of information supplier
User
Contact
http://www.leo-pharma.com www.leo-pharma.com
Date, reviewed
December 11, 2020