Hughes Unveils Ozone-Saving Formula That Uses Citrus Juice
Hughes Aircraft Co. on Thursday unveiled a substance that is expected to help save the Earth’s ozone layer and end the defense industry’s reliance on potent, ozone-depleting chemicals.
The nontoxic formula, called HF-1189, consists of citrus juice and water, plus a foaming and defoaming agent. Because it is so cheap and easy for companies to adapt, it is hailed as a low-tech remedy to help resolve one of the world’s most severe environmental problems.
“The alternative announced by Hughes gets high marks across the board,” said Stephen Seidel, deputy director of the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency.
At a news conference at Hughes’ corporate headquarters in Westchester, officials said the technology could nearly eliminate the defense industry’s use of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). The chemicals are widely used industrial cleaning solvents that have been linked to destruction of the Earth’s ozone layer since 1974.
The formula, developed by Ray Turner, an engineer with Hughes in Fullerton, is considered a breakthrough because it is the first to meet thS. military’s rigid standards for defense equipment. It is currently being used to manufacture four Navy product lines at Hughes’ Ground Systems Group in Fullerton.
Hughes officials said they expect the Defense Department to give HF-1189 “blanket approval” by June, allowing it to be used by all companies manufacturing defense electronics.
“This technology will contribute to solving a worldwide environmental problem. . . . Because of our technology’s unusual importance, we will not keep it as a proprietary process, but will make it available to industry in general,” said W. Scott Walker, a Hughes senior vice president.
U. S. Navy Capt. Michael Vance described the new system as “elegantly simple,” calling it “a three-way success story,” because it reduces CFCs, improves products and “saves the company and the taxpayer money.”
Hughes, the nation’s largest manufacturer of military electronics, spent $1 million developing the new system, but already saves $800,000 per year at the four product lines, Walker said. When Hughes uses the process companywide, the savings will reach $5 million per year.
“It’s a simple, economic solution. . . . It’s encouraging to see the spirit of innovation at Hughes is now being applied to solving environmental problems,” said Henry Wedaa, chairman of the South Coast Air Quality Management District board and a Yorba Linda city councilman.
CFCs rise in the upper atmosphere and deplete the ozone shield that protects the Earth from solar radiation, which can cause skin cancer and damage the world’s ecosystems. Even if all CFC use stopped immediately, experts say the ozone hole will keep growing for perhaps 100 years because of the delayed reaction of chemicals already released into the atmosphere.
The nation’s defense industry is one of the largest sources of CFCs, which are also used in commercial electronics, car air conditioners, refrigeration systems and polystyrene foam manufacturing. Worldwide, about 500 million pounds of CFCs are used by electronics firms.
The citrus formula replaces an acidic liquid, called flux, that defense contractors used to remove corrosion from circuit boards before soldering. The old flux left residue that had to be cleaned with CFCs to ensure military gear wouldn’t short-circuit. But the new citrus flux can be washed off with water, eliminating the need for CFCs.
National environmentalists said they welcome the new technique, but have challenged Hughes to set a date for ending all use of ozone depleters.
Hughes, however, is making no such promises, at least yet. “I can’t give you a date, but we are in a race running as fast as we can,” Walker said.
