HCFC cleaning agents as alternatives for chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in the electronics industry

The planned phase-out of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) set forth in the Montreal Protocol has required CFC-113 users to examine alternative technologies for cleaning printed wiring boards (PWBs). One class of alternatives is HCFCs or hydrochlorofluorocarbon-based cleaning agents. The authors discuss the effectiveness and ecology of two HCFC alternatives (HCFC-123 and HCFC-141b), presenting the advantages and tradeoffs of each. They also compare the properties and performance of a specific HCFC blend designed for electronics cleaning (consisting of 62.2% HCFC-141b, 35% HCFC-123, 2.5% methanol, and 0.3% stabilizer) to those of CFC-113/methanol, the current industry standard. This HCFC blend has exceeded the performance of CFC-113/methanol for removing ionic contamination and residual rosin. In addition, the authors describe the equipment and process design considerations for HCFC alternatives