In times of rapidly rising energy costs and the goal of CO2 neutrality, many companies are reviewing their individual processes. Even small optimization measures can significantly reduce energy and chemical consumption. A good example of this is the energy savings achieved in chemical pretreatment for powder coating.

In recent decades, many companies have used iron phosphating to remove oils and greases from metal components and to deposit a conversion layer as an adhesive base for subsequent powder coating. The disadvantage of such combination products is that they require bath temperatures of 55-75°C in order to completely degrease the components and form a sufficient iron phosphate layer within the standard cycle time of 3-4 minutes.

Many years ago, DOK-Chemie GmbH set itself the goal of significantly reducing energy costs in chemical pretreatment and increasing the quality of metal components. To this end, special surfactants were developed that are capable of completely degreasing components within 3 minutes at temperatures as low as 30-40°C.

Studies conducted with numerous customers have shown that reducing the bath temperature from 60°C to 32°C can achieve energy savings of 60-70%.

The new surfactants can be used in mineral pickles, neutral pickles, or alkaline degreasing agents, among other things, to degrease components.

To improve adhesion, DOK works with a nanoceramic conversion layer that is applied at the end of the chemical pretreatment. By lightly pickling the substrate, the pH value on the metal surface shifts and “ceramic” is deposited on the surface. The deposited conversion layer is only a few nanometers thick, is chrome- and phosphate-free, and can be applied at room temperature.

Another advantage is that the elimination of phosphating means that no more sludge forms in the system, which drastically reduces the cleaning effort and extends the service life.

DOK-Chemie is the number one contact when it comes to energy savings and nanoceramics in chemical pretreatment for powder coatings.

Contact:

DOK-Chemie GmbH

Mr. Heinrich

martin-heinrich@dok-chemie.de

www.dok-chemie.de