Safe and Sustainable Steel Pickling

Consumers and companies are more focused on safety and sustainability than ever – and so are regulators. This means pickling jobbers and manufacturers of stainless steel products need high-quality pickling solutions as an alternative to traditional methods that generate toxic fumes and pollute the air and water. BONDERITE^® offers a nitric acid-free stainless steel pickling process that delivers outstanding performance, while also cutting costs and increasing efficiency, safety and sustainability.

Facing the Challenges

There are some tricky challenges involved in creating a fully passivated stainless steel surface with an even, clean and beautiful finish. You need to remove all scale, iron contamination and welding oxides. For the food industry, you also need to make sure the surface is free from any traces of pickling solution. On top of this, you also need to operate in line with increasingly strict regulations for health, safety and sustainability.

Traditional pickling methods that use a mix of nitric acid and hydrofluoric acid are able to provide good results in terms of quality – but they have some big disadvantages. The systems are difficult to control. They also generate toxic fumes and air pollution through NOx emissions, which can cause serious health risks. Furthermore, nitrate ions in wastewater can cause excessive growth of algae and reduce the level of oxygen in lakes and rivers.

High Impact on Quality, Low Impact on People and the Planet

Some producers use catalytic towers or hydrogen peroxide dosing to reduce NOx emissions, while others use advanced filtration technologies to eliminate nitrate from wastewater. However, these approaches generate additional costs without addressing the root cause of the problem. A truly safe and sustainable process for stainless steel pickling is urgently needed. And we’ve got it…

BONDERITE^® offers a range of nitric acid-free pickling solutions that deliver high-quality results for almost any grade of steel. These solutions can be applied in spray or immersion processes, and can also extend the overall bath life. They cut costs related to managing the problems described above, and enable customers to stay ahead of changing regulations.

Steel Stories that Stick in Your Mind

Companies around the globe are now using these innovations from BONDERITE^® for applications including producing beer barrels, washbasins and welded tubes. At Henkel, we used this technology for one particularly special application: Our BONDERITE^® Chair.

The chair is at the heart of our “BONDERITE^® goes around the world” campaign, where customers from across industries share their stories about using our products to improve quality, efficiency and sustainability. Experts from Henkel will also feature in interviews to provide deep insights into our technologies.

Watch out for updates on our website, LinkedIn page and other channels.

About BONDERITE^®

BONDERITE^® is the world’s leading brand of surface treatments, coatings, cleaning solutions and lubricants. Its innovative solutions create a competitive advantage for companies across industries and around the globe. The brand is owned by Henkel and has proven track record of reliability, sustainability and performance – supported by its expert team of technical engineers.