SOURCE REDUCTION OF CHLORINATED SOLVENTS IN THE ELECTRONICS INDUSTRY

Chlorinated solvents are a class of interrelated chemicals that have gone through major regulatory scrutiny in recent years. In January, 1991, P&SF published information about the Montreal Protocol and the scheduled phase-out of chlorinated solvents. These solvents are used in PCB fabrication and assembly, semiconductor wafer fabrication and assembly, and critical cleaning applications. The growth in the use of chlorinated solvents has gone hand-in-hand with the growth of the electronics industry. Considering the current impetus to reduce use of these solvents, this article* explores various solvent source reduction options, such as conversion to aqueous and semi-aqueous photoresists, and chemical substitution and process modification for defluxing PCBs.