Industry News, R&D, HI&I Cleaning Care
Dipentene, an effective, safe, biodegradable cleaning and degreasing material
- The chemistry of dipentene
A broader range of solvent power for both polar and non-polar soils compared to citrus D-limonene
L-limonene or (-)-Limonene is the optical isomer of Limonene, has a typical pine woody scent. Commercially, it is mostly obtained from pine tree essential oils.
D-limonene or (+)-Limonene is another optical isomer of Limonene, has a sweet orange scent. Commercially, it is obtained from citrus peels.
DL-Limonene usually is known as dipentene. Commercially it is a mixture of DL-Limonene and various other terpene hydrocarbons obtained from pine tree essential oils with a pine woody scent.
Dipentene comprises 90%-100% terpene hydrocarbons, mainly DL-Limonene, as well as several of its isomers (eg. Terpinolenes, Terpinenes, and beta-Phellandrene). In terms of structures, most isomers of dl-Limonene enhance the solvency for non-polar soils, so compared to D-limonene, dipentene has a broader range of solvent power. However, the Hansen Solubility Parameters of dipentene is still close to D-Limonene due to the similarity of the structures of isomers, which means there is no need to significantly change the cleaner formulations.
- The solvent power of dipentene
Dipentene has a relatively high solvent power
The relatively solvent power could be measured by KB Value. The higher the KB Value, the stronger solvent power a chemical has. Dipentene has a relatively high KB Value of around 60~100 (depending on the compositions), enabling it to penetrate and lift even the heaviest of oil stains and spills quickly and safely. It can replace many traditional solvents such as fluorinated and chlorinated organic solvents, acetone, MEK（methyl ethyl ketone）, mineral spirits, glycol ethers, toluene and etc. A KB Value reference chart of some solvents as below:
| Products | KB Value |
| Dichloromethane | 136 |
| 1,1,1, trichloroethylene | 124 |
| Toluene | 105 |
| Perchloroethylene | 90 |
| d-Limonene | 67 |
| mineral spirits | 37 |
| n-Hexane | 29 |
- Features and Advantages of Forevest’s dipentene Series
Dipentene CP, the best substitute or extender for Citrus D-Limonene
| Product | Odor | Relative solvent power | Cost Level | Features | Recommended Applications | |
| Dipentene DH | ● | ● | ● | good stability; low cost |
industrial solvents for paint, coating, rubber etc | |
| Dipentene BP | ●● | ●● | ●● | medium solvency; pine odor with a hint of citrus scent |
industrial solvents for paint, coating, rubber etc; Less demanding industrial cleaners and degreasers |
|
| Dipentene IP | ●● | ●● | ●● | medium solvency; pine odor with a hint of citrus scent |
industrial solvents for paint, coating, rubber etc; Less demanding industrial cleaners and degreasers |
|
| Dipentene TP | ●● | ●●● | ●●● | good solvency; pine odor with a hint of citrus and floral scent; cost-effective substitute for D-limonene; |
industrial solvents for paint, coating, rubber and etc; industrial cleaners and degreasers |
|
| Dipentene AP | ●●● | ●●● | ●●● | good solvency; pine odor with a hint of citrus and camphor scent; cost-effective substitute for D-limonene; |
industrial solvents for paint, coating, rubber and etc; industrial cleaners and degreasers; household cleaners and degreaser |
|
| Dipentene CP 40% | ●●●● | ●●●●● | ●●●● | excellent solvency; pine odor with slight citrus odor; best substitute for D-limonene; |
industrial solvents for paint, coating, rubber, ink and etc; industrial cleaners and degreasers; household cleaners and degreaser |
|
| L-limonene 95% | ●●●●● | ●●●●● | ●●●●● | good solvency; typical pine woody odor; |
industrial solvents for paint, coating, rubber, ink and etc; industrial cleaners and degreasers; household cleaners and degreaser |
|
| D-limonene | ●●●●●● | ●●●●● | ●●●●●● | good solvency; typical pine woody odor; volatile and high price; |
industrial solvents for paint, coating, rubber, ink and etc; industrial cleaners and degreasers; household cleaners and degreaser; |
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Common advantages of dipentene, non-toxic, biodegradable, pleasant pine odor
- biodegradable and contains no ozone-depleting chemicals.
- low Vapor Emissions and low odor threshold.
- not carcinogenic or mutagenic.
- approved to be used as an inert ingredient by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
- The recommended usage level of dipentene for cleaning formulations.
| Applications | Usage Level | Note |
| paint, adhesives, wax, inks, gum, tar, asphalt and other hydrocarbon soils removers, especially for hard surfaces or flexible surfaces. | 50%~90% | 1. High concentrations of dipentene may affect pump seals and rubber parts. Use equipment that has viton seals or some other resistant-type material.
2. Citrus D-limonene can be used as odor mask for Dipentene in proportion of 1%~6% for household cleaners and degreasers. |
| non-foaming hand cleaners, printing press cleaners and other heavy-duty cleaners and degreasers. | 20%~50% | |
| Glass and mirror cleaners. | 20%~10% | |
| Floor cleaner, upholstery cleaner, equipment cleaner, and multi-use degreasers for spray and wipe cleaning on almost any surfaces. | 5%-10% |