DoD Sustainable Products Center

“Products used to remove contaminants, such as adhesives, inks, paint, dirt, soil, and grease, from parts, products, tools, machinery, equipment, vessels, floors, walls, and other production-related work areas. The cleaning products within this item are usually solvents, but may take other forms. They may be used in either straight solution or diluted with water in pressure washers, or in hand wiping applications in industrial or manufacturing settings, such as inside vessels. Task-specific cleaners used in industrial settings, such as parts wash solutions, are not included in this definition.”

The BioPreferred Program established a minimum biobased content of 41 percent for industrial cleaners.  The demonstration biobased brake cleaner is less toxic than traditional brake cleaners and contains no hazardous air pollutants.  It also offers a substantially higher flashpoint and reduced environmental risk from spills in comparison to traditional brake cleaners.

Before these biobased products are utilized by the Military Departments and DoD Components, their performance must be proven to meet DoD requirements.

Demonstration Products*

The following biobased product was demonstrated:

• SpartaBrake by Spartaclean Bio-Technologies

*Mention of or referral to commercial products, services, and manufacturers herein is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute endorsement by, nor the official policy or position of, the Department of Defense (DoD), any of its Components, or the U.S. Government.

Demonstration Sites

Field demonstrations of these products were performed at the following DoD installations and co-located federal facilities to evaluate their performance in Military operational environments and to raise awareness of biobased product availability:

• Shaw Air Force Base (AFB)
• Eglin AFB
• Hurlburt Field
• Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM)
• Red River Army Depot (RRAD)
• Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center (MCAGCC) Twentynine Palms
• Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center (MCMWTC)
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Armstrong Flight Research Center (AFRC)
• NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) AS40 Logistics Services Facility
• NASA MSFC Valve and Component Lab Facility
• Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Tactical Emergency Vehicle Operations Center (TEVOC), Quantico

Demonstration Details

A biobased brake cleaner demonstration plan was developed to outline the demonstration activities to be performed, identify site performance requirements and the key performance criteria, as well as select the product to be evaluated. Installation personnel were provided a supply of the products for use in their operations and asked to provide feedback on the product performance. This demonstration commenced late summer 2022 and concluded in August 2023. Table 1 contains the key performance criteria that the stakeholders established to evaluate and validate that the biobased brake cleaners met the participants’ requirements.

Table 1: Demonstration Performance Criteria

Criteria	Parameters
Biobased Brake Cleaner Cleaning Efficiency	Cleaning Time Drying Time Dirt, Oil, Grime Removal Quantity of Brake Cleaner Used per Application
Biobased Brake Cleaner Ease of Use	Ease of Application Overall Cleaning Effort
Biobased Brake Cleaner User Safety / Friendliness	Odor Eye, Respiratory, or Skin Irritation

Demonstration Results

The participating end user activities within the listed installations reported feedback on the biobased brake cleaner product performance compared to their baseline brake cleaners. Two demonstration sites reported that the biobased brake cleaner met all of their performance requirements for use at their facilities. The remaining demonstration sites reported that the biobased brake cleaner met some, but not all, of their performance requirements for use in their brake cleaner applications. Overall, the following feedback was reported for each performance criterion.

• Cleaning Time: Three sites reported that the biobased brake cleaner met their performance requirements for cleaning time and the cleaning time was the same or less than the baseline brake cleaner. Eight sites reported that the biobased brake cleaner did not meet their performance requirements for cleaning time and the cleaning time was longer than the baseline brake cleaner.
• Drying Time: Two sites reported that the biobased brake cleaner met their requirement for the required overall cleaning effort compared to the baseline brake cleaner. Eight sites reported that the biobased brake cleaner did not meet their requirement for the required overall cleaning effort compared to the baseline brake cleaner.
• Dirt, Oil, Grime Removal: Three facilities reported that the biobased brake cleaner met their performance requirement for removing dirt, oil, and grime and the performance was the same or better than the baseline brake cleaner. Eight facilities reported that the biobased brake cleaner did not meet their performance requirement for removing dirt, oil, and grime and the performance was worse than the baseline brake cleaner.
• Quantity of Brake Cleaner Product Used per Application: Two facilities reported that the biobased brake cleaner met their requirement for usage quantity of brake cleaner product and the same or less quantity of biobased brake cleaner was required per application than the baseline brake cleaner. Nine facilities reported that the biobased brake cleaner did not meet their requirement for usage quantity of brake cleaner product and more biobased brake cleaner was required per application than the baseline brake cleaner.
• Ease of Application: All of the demonstration sites reported that the biobased brake cleaner met their requirement for ease of application.
• Overall Cleaning Effort: Two sites reported that the biobased brake cleaner met their requirement for the required overall cleaning effort compared to the baseline brake cleaner. Eight sites reported that the biobased brake cleaner did not meet their requirement for the required overall cleaning effort compared to the baseline brake cleaner.
• Odor: Six facilities reported that the biobased brake cleaner odor was satisfactory. Five facilities reported that the biobased brake cleaner odor was not satisfactory.
• Eye, Respiratory, and Skin Irritation: No eye, respiratory, or skin irritation issues were reported.

Demonstration GSA Schedule

The biobased brake cleaner manufacturer is currently working with GSA to establish a Multiple Award Schedule.