Replace Hydrocarbon Solvents
Switching from
Hydrocarbon Solvents to ESTISOL®
Switching from hydrocarbon solvents to alternative solvents with an improved EHS profile represents a significant stride towards a more sustainable and environmentally conscious approach in various industrial processes.
This transition from hydrocarbon solvents brings about a multitude of technical, environmental, and health and safety benefits.
Why hydrocarbon solvents are under pressure
Hydrocarbon solvents - both aliphatic and aromatic - have historically delivered reliable solvency power, predictable evaporation rates, and costefficient formulation performance. For decades, they have been the default choice in industrial cleaning, degreasing, ink formulation, resin processing, and maintenance chemicals.
For R&D and technical sales teams, they are familiar tools.
However, the drawbacks are becoming increasingly difficult to ignore:
Low flash points introduce fire and explosion risks, particularly in heated cleaning baths, spray applications, and confined production environments. High VOC content drives regulatory pressure under regional and global emission frameworks, forcing reformulators to adjust products to meet tightening limits.
Aromatic fractions and certain hydrocarbon cuts contribute to aspiration hazards, CLP classifications, and restrictive exposure scenarios that directly impact product labeling, logistics, and customer acceptance.
From a formulation perspective, hydrocarbons are often selected for solvency strength—but they can also limit innovation. Their fossil origin increases carbon footprint, and their eco-toxicological profile may be problematic in open or outdoor applications such as construction, offshore, or infrastructure maintenance.
For technical professionals, the challenge is clear:
How to maintain or improve solvency performance while reducing VOC emissions, increasing flash point, minimizing hazard classification, and future-proofing formulations against regulatory and market shifts.
A structured substitution strategy
Effective solvent replacement requires a systematic approach grounded in chemistry and application knowledge.
The starting point is functional analysis. What is the solvent doing in the formulation? Is it dissolving a resin system, removing oxidized oils, reducing viscosity, adjusting drying time, or acting as a carrier fluid? Solvency parameters, polarity balance, compatibility with elastomers and plastics, and evaporation curves must be mapped before alternatives are considered.
Next comes regulatory and risk profiling. What are the CLP classifications? Does the solvent trigger GHS labeling, aspiration hazards, or transport restrictions? Are VOC thresholds limiting access to specific markets? For sales teams, these factors directly influence product positioning and customer qualification.
The third step is performance validation.
In many cases, hydrocarbon solvents can be replaced 100% by an alternative. In others, partial substitution - such as replacing aromatic content while maintaining a dearomatized hydrocarbon fraction - provides an optimized solution. Pilotscale testing ensures that cleaning efficiency, residue profile, material compatibility, and drying performance remain within specification.
A disciplined substitution process transforms solvent replacement from a compliance exercise into a formulation upgrade.
ESTISOL®: Ester-based solvent technology
ESTISOL® is a range of vegetable-based ester solvents developed to replace traditional hydrocarbon and hazardous solvents in formulated chemical products. The chemistry is based on fatty acid esters with high biocarbon content (>50%), offering a strong solvency profile combined with ready biodegradability and low environmental toxicity.
For R&D professionals, ESTISOL® provides a combination of high solvency power and improved safety parameters.
Many grades offer significantly higher flash points compared to conventional hydrocarbon solvents, enabling safer handling and reduced fire risk in production and end use. In reformulation scenarios, VOC content can often be reduced or eliminated, and CLP labeling may be minimized or removed .
ESTISOL® esters are successfully used as alternatives to:
- Aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons
- d-limonene and orange terpenes
- NMP, NEP, GBL, MEK, and similar high-risk solvents
- Cyclohexanone and other aggressive industrial solvents
Applications include industrial cleaners, degreasers, resin cleaning systems, printing inks, blanket washes, lubricants, and oil field chemicals.
Selected grades are available in RSPO Mass Balance quality, supporting eco-label qualification such as Nordic Swan and Ecocert .
ESTISOL® is positioned not merely as a “green” solvent, but as a safer, high-performance alternative engineered for demanding industrial formulations.
Technical & commercial impact
For R&D teams, adopting ESTISOL® can improve formulation robustness.
Higher flash points reduce constraints in heated cleaning systems. Lower volatility reduces operator exposure and odor intensity. Improved eco-toxicological performance mitigates environmental risk in case of spills or outdoor applications.
For technical sales functions, the value proposition is equally compelling.
Reformulated products with reduced hazard labeling can simplify transport, storage, and documentation. Lower VOC content supports customer sustainability targets and ESG reporting.
Moving from fossil hydrocarbons toward biocarbon-based esters strengthens the environmental narrative without compromising cleaning efficiency or solvency performance.
Most importantly, solvent replacement becomes a proactive strategy rather than a reactive necessity.
By integrating ESTISOL® into new or existing formulations, companies can simultaneously enhance safety, regulatory compliance, and market differentiation.
At ESTI CHEM, we support R&D and sales teams throughout the evaluation process - from technical screening and compatibility testing to pilot validation and customer documentation.
ESTISOL® is not simply a substitute for hydrocarbons. It is a platform for safer chemistry and more competitive formulations.
We offer different technical solutions depending of the process requirements, customer´s EHS ambitions
and the financial framework
Using ESTISOL 242 or ESTISOL 190 as booster solvents for D-type hydrocarbon solvents.
This enables the transition from aromatic solvents such as white spirit and solvent naphtha type materials to blends of 10-30% ESTISOL® and D-type solvents thereby avoiding aromatics. Such cleaners are used as cold cleaners on machine parts and heavily contaminated, painted surfaces.
Combining two to three ESTISOL® ester solvents to form ESTISOL®-based cold cleaners, which are non-VOC cleaners without CLP label.
ESTISURF CC03 or ESTISURF M27 may be applied as emulsifiers to create water-washable formulations. Such formulations have the same applications as the traditional hydrocarbon-based cold cleaners, but with clear EHS benefits.
Using our best-in-class ESTICLEAN AR-PLUS MB water-in-oil microemulsion technology as cold cleaner. ESTICLEAN AR-PLUS MB is VOC-free, it has no CLP label, and is highly efficient for removing bitumen spots, cleaning heavy oils and other oily residues.
Using ESTISURF MF20 MB as base raw material for the formulation of water-dilutable microemulsion cleaners for all-round cleaning and degreasing.
|
|
High-flash White Spirit |
D100 |
20-30% ESTISOL + 70-80% D100 |
ESTISOL-based cleaner |
ESTICLEAN AR-PLUS MB |
ESTISURF MF20 MB based cleaner |
|
Flash point, °C |
>55 |
100 |
>100 |
>100 |
n.a. |
n.a. |
|
VOC, % |
100 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
GHS symbol |
|
|
|
None |
None |
None |
|
KB value |
35-50 |
24 |
40-100 |
50-200 |
n.a. |
n.a. |
|
Key features
|
Traditional hydrocarbon aromatic solvent, good cleaning properties but multitude of EHS issues |
Traditional hydrocarbon aliphatic solvent, modest cleaning properties but multitude of EHS issues |
Combination product of low-price aliphatic solvent and powerful ESTISOL® solvent, very high cleaning power and no aromatics, but still EHS issues related to aliphatic solvents |
Optimized ESTISOL® based degreaser, no hydrocarbon solvents, powerful degreaser, high bio-carbon content |
Best-in-class microemulsion degreaser based on ESTISOL® and ESTISURF® technology, powerful degreaser, outstanding cleaning properties, leaves a very clean surface |
Water-dilutable microemulsion cleaner based on ESTISOL® and ESTISURF® technology, excellent all-round cleaning properties also in dilution with water |
Please contact us to learn more about how you can move forward with a new generation of efficient degreasers, alternatives to hydrocarbon solvents and other formulated products using ESTI CHEMs well-proven ESTISOL® and ESTISURF® technology.
Customer solutions
Formulation Technology
Esti Chem has been active for more than 30 years in the field of solvent substitution, emulsifiers, specialty surfactants, microemulsions, and silicone oil-free defoamers.
We have technical laboratories in Denmark & Germany offering their assistance in the development process.
Esti Chem has accumulated a lot of formulation knowhow in the form of guideline formulations to assist you in the R&D process.
Customer Development
Esti Chems team-based organization is engaged and can react quickly to customer needs.
Our company’s quality systems are certified according to ISO 9001, 14001 and 45001, we are RSPO certified, and we score high on Ecovadis sustainability rating.
Esti Chem has long-term experience in customer-specific projects: We turn your needs into products!
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