Advances In Zirconium Pretreatment. Calvary Industries, Inc.

Transcription

1 Advances In Zirconium Pretreatment Calvary Industries, Inc.

2 THE TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT Zirconium first used as primary pretreatment on aluminum beverage can lines Interest in zirconium to replace phosphates as mainstream pretreatment began in the late 1990 s Calvary s first commercial zirconium went on line in 2005

3 THE TECHNOLOGY BENEFITS OF ZIRCONIUM PRETREATMENT Ambient operaoonal temperature, saving energy costs Significantly less sludge than iron phosphate, allowing for reduced maintenance like frequent washer descales and plugged nozzles Increased performance

4 THE TECHNOLOGY COMPLAINTS OF COMPETITVE PRODUCTS Prone to flash rust, especially during line stoppages Not safe in mild steel process equipment Required DI / RO water Complicated tesong Not stable with contaminaoon Inconsistent performance, especially across substrate types Narrow operaong parameters

5 THE TECHNOLOGY The goal became to make these products robust, user-friendly, and high performance, while keeping the benefits. Early 2012 a promising combinaoon consistently tested well One size does not fit all, we began to formulate a family of products tailored to fit common industrial applicaoons Result is a group of products that perform at a high level on all substrates, under a variety of condioons.

6 1000 HOUR SALT SPRAY ASTM B-117 PERFORMANCE COMPARISON ADVANTECH P600 Bonderite 1000 Iron Phos Bonderite 952 Zinc Phos Bonderite 1000/P-60 Iron Phos / Cr 6+ seal

7 CLEANER CAL CLEAN % - 80% less alkalinity then tradioonal cleaners Easy rinsing, lower water usage Bath charges at 9,000 15,000 microsiemens conducovity Superior carbon, loose oxide, and paroculate removal Unparalleled weld cleanliness and removal of inorganic surface contaminants

8 CAL CLEAN 944 Wheel before cleaning Wheel acer cleaning CAL CLEAN ⁰F, 90 seconds, spray

9 CASE STUDY OUTDOOR EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURER 11-stage Zinc Phosphate washer, followed by e-coat and powder topcoat Switched to competitive zirconium Bath life very short, high chemical consumption High iron content, causing defects with mapping under e-coat Not passing salt spray 600 hours B-117 salt spray

10 ZIRCONIUM PRETREATMENT Stage 1 Clean CAL CLEAN 944 Stage 2 Clean CAL CLEAN 944 Stage 3 Rinse Tap water Stage 4 Rinse Tap water Stage 5 Zirconium ADVANTECH P600 Stage 6 Zirconium ADVANTECH P600 Stage 7 Rinse Empty Stage 8 Rinse Empty Stage 9 Rinse RO water ADVANTECH P600 Organic zirconium coating Resistant to flash rust Easy to use, only one parameter to test / track All-in-one pack, no additives No heat No scale Resistant to contamination Not ph sensitive

11 Stage 7 2 weeks 11,000 ppm iron Stage 7 Advantech P600 8 months 5 ppm Iron

12 REALIZED BENEFITS Reduced number of stages to 9, eliminating two rinses, a savings of 33% Eliminated mapping under e-coat due to excess iron Increased bath life, possibly indefinitely Exceeding salt spray 1200 hours B-117 salt spray Overall Chemical savings approximately 60%

13 INCREASED PERFORMANCE 600 Hours B-117 salt spray 1.49 mm creep, ASTM D raong 1600 Hours B-117 salt spray 2.51 mm creep, ASTM D raong

14 CASE STUDY FARM IMPLEMENT MANUFACTURER Customer had a 9-stage immersion process, but were having mechanical difficuloes and drainage from tubular parts All parts were blasted hot rolled steel assemblies

15 PROCESS TESTING

16 PROCESS TESTING During the tesong phase, we manually sprayed the ADVANTECH P600 on the parts with pump-up sprayers and portable pressure sprayers directly to the metal acer the media blast. Acer the process was implemented, 2 risers were added to the post blast area and the parts are exposed to pretreatment spray for about 60 seconds and then the parts are mostly air dry by the Ome they reach the dry-off oven

17 RESULTS Meets customer requirements of 600 hour B-117 salt spray tesong with mm creepage. Customer has successfully decommissioned 9-stage washer and accompanying boiler.

18 CASE STUDY EXTERIOR HEAT EXCHANGER MANUFACTURER Running 7-stage zinc phosphate, powder topcoat Hot Rolled Steel and G60 Galvanized 1000 hrs B-117 salt spray Switched to zirconium to reduce costs, environmental impact, and maintenance

19 REALIZED BENEFITS Reduced overall chemical cost 30% Reduced waste treatment cost 30% Reduced sludge disposal cost 100% Reduced overall energy cost 40% Reduced maintenance 50% Reduced water usage 30% Maintained performance 1000 hrs salt spray

20 CASE STUDY WHEEL CHAIR LIFT MANUFACTURER

21 CASE STUDY DIALING IN THE PROCESS Customer runs HRPO, CRS, several aluminum alloys, and stainless steel Parts have several welded areas Converted to alkaline cleaner, zirconium conversion, seal

22 CASE STUDY DIALING IN THE PROCESS Lowering the conducovity of the sealer, eliminaong the white, dry-down on aluminum Prevents flash rust on steel and improves performance

23 CASE STUDY RESULTS Results Runs all substrates without adjusong chemistry Eliminated sludge and plugged nozzles in stage 3 Eliminated heat in stage 3 Meets requirements of 1000 hour B-117 salt spray tesong

24 CASE STUDY POWDER COATING JOB SHOP 5-stage manual spray-wand wash with alkaline cleaner, organic iron phosphate, and DI rinses City was changing discharge requirements to disallow phosphate from discharged water Needed to change to a non-phosphate process without reducing performance

25 CASE STUDY DIALING IN THE PROCESS Customer runs HRPO, CRS, and aluminum alloys Changed to alkaline cleaner, rinses and a dry-in-place zirconium conversion coaong City re-clarified requirements, and customer had to eliminate ALL acidic stages from washer Changed last stage to a ph 7.0 dry-in-place zirconium conversion coaong

26 CASE STUDY - RESULTS Results Eliminated all acid from stages saosfying regulatory requirements Meets requirements of 500 hour B-117 salt spray tesong with mm creepage

27 BENEFITS OF CALVARY ZIRCONIUM PROCESSES Environmental Impact Reduction of waste treatment, energy consumption, water usage, phosphate-free Regulatory Impact Compliance with changing Federal, State, and Local regulations. Economic Impact Reduction of chemical cost, maintenance, and overall operational system cost

28 BENEFITS OF CALVARY ZIRCONIUM PROCESSES Productivity Impact Increased productivity due to fewer stages, less maintenance, ease of use Performance Impact Increased performance across all substrates

29 THINGS TO REMEMBER WHEN CONSIDERING A SWITCH TO ZIRCONIUM Make a list of your requirements first thing. SelecOng the proper cleaner is imperaove for a properly running zirconium washer even more criocal for mulo-metal systems Keep an open mind to alternaove treatments. One size does not fit all, there are no absolutes. It is important to choose a zirconium chemistry flexible enough to be stable when manipulated to higher ph ranges to accommodate all metals and system configuraoons