EFTCO · Cleaning

Tank cleaning code lookup

EFTCO cleaning code letters explained, plus a compatibility table for common chemical-trade cargo transitions.

Last updated 2026-05-09. Math runs in your browser, no data leaves your computer.

General guidance only, not legal or professional engineering advice. Verify against the cited primary sources (IMDG, REACH, ChAFTA, RCEP, Customs Tariff Act, supplier SDS, etc.) before committing to a shipment, declaration, or contract. Sourzi assumes no liability for outcomes based on these calculators.

EFTCO code letters

Cold water rinse

Rinse with cold water only.

Compatible cargo or pre-rinse before higher-grade clean. Cheapest option, ~50-100 USD.

Hot water rinse

Rinse with water above 60 degrees Celsius.

Loosen residues that cold water cannot. Common for sticky liquids. ~100-200 USD.

Caustic wash

Hot caustic soda solution wash and rinse.

Remove acidic residues and many organic films. Standard for transitions away from oils, fats, FAME. ~250-400 USD.

Detergent wash

Hot detergent solution wash and rinse.

Surfactant cleaning. ~200-350 USD.

Acid wash

Acid (typically dilute nitric or phosphoric) wash and rinse.

Remove caustic residues, mineral scales. ~250-400 USD.

Steam clean

Steam clean.

High-temperature deep clean. ~400-600 USD.

Solvent wash

Wash with solvent (xylene, toluene, MEK).

Remove residues that water-based cleans cannot (resins, polymers, certain pigments). ~600-1,000 USD.

Dry / drain

Drain and air-dry.

After any wet clean before next cargo loaded.

Inhibitor / passivation

Apply inhibitor or passivation layer.

Carbon steel tanks switching to corrosive cargo.

Documentation only

No physical clean; certificate issued for compatible-cargo transition.

Same product or fully compatible cargo on next load. ~50 USD.

Common transitions

Previous cargo	Next cargo	Cleaning rule
Caustic soda 50% (NaOH)	Sulphuric acid (H2SO4)	C + E + F + I (caustic wash, acid wash, steam, passivate). Reactive transition; full clean mandatory.
Caustic soda 50%	Same caustic soda	J (documentation only). Compatible.
Methanol	Ethanol	A + H (cold rinse, drain). Largely compatible.
Methanol	Citric acid solution	C + D + F (caustic, detergent, steam). Methanol residue is unacceptable for food-grade.
FAME (biodiesel)	Diesel	C + B + H (caustic, hot rinse, drain). FAME film must be removed.
Vegetable oil	Industrial oils / chemicals	C + F (caustic, steam). Food-grade history must be cleaned.
Phenol	Most other cargo	G + C + F (solvent, caustic, steam). Phenol contamination is hard to remove.
Pigment slurries	Clear / colourless cargo	G + D + B + F (solvent, detergent, hot rinse, steam). Pigment carryover is a customs and QC reject trigger.

Why the EFTCO codes are the standard

Tank-container cleaning is a precise process. The wrong cleaning before the next load can contaminate cargo (food-grade citric acid receives industrial-residue carryover and fails QC at destination), corrode the tank lining (caustic loaded into a tank with acid passivation eats the steel), or trigger a customs reject (a tank that previously held a banned substance shipping into a strict-residue jurisdiction). Getting the cleaning right is upstream of getting the cargo accepted.

EFTCO codes give the depot, the carrier, and the shipper a shared vocabulary. The depot reports what was done in code letters: a typical cleaning certificate lists CDFH (caustic, detergent, steam, dry) for a transition from FAME to a clear chemical product. The shipper checks the codes against the cleaning specification their cargo requires; if the codes match or exceed, the tank is acceptable.

Compatibility is product-pair specific. The matrix above covers the most common chemical-trade pairs. Same product back-to-back is the cheapest path: the previous shipper drains and dries, the next shipper signs off documentation only (code J). Reactive transitions (caustic to acid) require full chemical-cleaning cycles and often a passivation step on the tank lining. Food-grade after industrial requires deep cleaning regardless of the specific previous cargo because the residue tolerance drops dramatically.

For the buyer side: read the cleaning certificate before accepting the tank. Match the code combination against your cargo specification. If unsure, your forwarder or the destination depot can advise. The 200 to 1,000 USD cleaning bill is small relative to the cost of a contaminated cargo (rejection, return freight, write-off).

Frequently asked

What is EFTCO and why does the code system exist?

EFTCO (European Federation of Tank Cleaning Organisations) publishes the standardised cleaning code letters used across European and global tank-cleaning depots. The code on the cleaning certificate documents what was done; the receiving cargo decides what was needed. Without the standard, every depot would describe their own service differently and matching last cargo to next cargo would be guesswork.

How do I know which code combination is right?

It depends on the last cargo plus the next cargo. The compatibility table below covers common chemical-trade transitions. For unusual cargo, the rule of thumb: if the next cargo is more sensitive than the last (e.g. food-grade after industrial), more cleaning. If the next cargo is the same or fully compatible, J (documentation) suffices.

Who pays for the cleaning?

Industry standard is the incoming cargo shipper pays for the clean before their cargo is loaded. The previous shipper is responsible for arranging the cargo to be drained and dry but not for upgrading the tank to a higher cleanliness standard than they used. Disputes happen when the cleaning needed is far above what the next shipper expected; ask the depot for a quote against the actual previous-cargo certificate.