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The search for new solvents is driven by the needs of new applications, new processing requirements, changing environmental regulations, and market demands. Many cleaning solvents used in the lithographic printing industry are on the environmental “hit list” and are to be phased out within the next few years. This paper discusses the systematic design of cleaning solvent blends for lithographic printing (commonly referred to as blanket washes). The design problem consists of a discrete problem involving selection of solvents from a set of pure-component solvents and a continuous problem of finding the blend composition. The simultaneous consideration of associated process constraints, property requirements, and environmental restrictions makes blanket wash design a rather difficult problem. To address this issue, we present a framework for designing cleaning solvent blends that meet thermophysical property requirements and environmental restrictions. The solvent design model is solved using interval analysis.

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