Delmet stainless steel excellence since 1949
Pickling
We offer a wide range of systems, products, and equipment for stainless steel pickling, both automatic and manual. We provide third-party services at the customer’s facilities. In addition, we handle the design, production, and supply of customized systems.
Pickling
Pickling uses chemical agents to remove oxide scales that form during hot working in the presence of atmospheric oxygen. The final result is a component with a smooth surface and uniform gray color, ready for subsequent passivation or electropolishing treatments.
This treatment is the simplest and most cost-effective method to achieve a decontaminated and uniform stainless steel surface that preserves the characteristics for which the alloy was chosen. The distinctive protective film of stainless steel can form correctly only in the absence of oxides and contaminants, which pickling removes. Stainless steel that is contaminated and not pickled will eventually corrode.
Pickling and passivation treatments can be performed, in accordance with ASTM A480 and ASTM 967 standards, by immersion or spray using gels or liquids, with products containing nitric acid or completely acid-free formulations, depending on the customer’s specifications.
Decontamination
The decontamination process removes iron and other metal contaminants from the stainless steel surface. The presence of these foreign materials interferes with the formation of the protective film, promoting potential corrosion initiation.
Immersion or spraying with specific solutions allows the removal of these contaminants without altering the original appearance of the component. Unlike pickling, no material is removed during decontamination.
Decontamination always has a beneficial effect on the stability of stainless steel passivation and is therefore often incorrectly referred to as passivation. Successful decontamination can be verified using specific reagents compliant with the relevant ASTM standards or through repeated wetting cycles within the following 24 hours.
Localized treatment
For treatments confined to small areas, such as near a weld, pickling pastes and gels can be applied using brushes.
When decontaminating a stainless steel surface free of particularly stubborn oxides, a product can be used to completely remove them without significantly altering the color of the treated surface. A clean, contaminant-free stainless steel surface will naturally generate its own passive chromium oxide layer when exposed to oxygen.
It is precisely this passive surface layer that gives stainless steel its excellent resistance to chemical attacks and general corrosion. However, chemical passivation can be applied to accelerate the formation of the protective layer.
When to perform passivation
Chemical passivation is not always necessary but is recommended in poorly ventilated environments, such as inside pipelines or in hermetically sealed reactors.
Our chemical pickling and passivation treatments comply with ASTM A380/06 and ASTM A967/99.
Passivation is not required on electropolished surfaces, thanks to the formation of a surface oxide layer following the electropolishing process (ASTM 912/02).
We offer a wide range of systems, products, and equipment for stainless steel pickling and passivation, both automatic and manual, with dedicated third-party services directly at customers’ production facilities or through the design, production, and supply of customized systems.
Service
24/7
Capacity up to/p>
10 t
Components up to
15 mt
Order Tracking
On-Line
Certification
ISO 9001/14001
Treatment of pharmaceutical lines
On-Site
Subcontract pickling services
Pickling treatment
We provide third-party pickling services at two different production facilities, equipped with the most advanced systems and using the techniques best suited to your stainless steel: immersion pickling, spray pickling, and localized manual treatment for small parts.
Pickling is performed on steel objects and components—up to 10 tons and 15 meters in length with operations running up to 24 hours a day, 6 days a week. Third-party services are also available at the customer’s site.
In addition, we monitor the progress of the work through our dedicated digital platform.
Cleanroom and ultrapure water
For high-quality processes, such as those required by the nuclear, high-vacuum, or pharmaceutical sectors, a cleanroom is used for final inspection and packaging of stainless steel components.
The water used for the final rinse is filtered through a resin system that ensures its.
Electrolytic metal deoxidation
Unlimited solutions for stainless steel surface treatment
Pickling Systems
Delmet stainless steel excellence since 1949
With over 70 years of experience, we design, develop, and build manual and automatic stainless steel pickling systems. In particular, we specialize in the construction of immersion pickling systems as well as spray pickling systems.
Compatible chemical products
Achieve effective and satisfactory results by choosing products compatible with our systems:
Electropolishing
Portable
Portable systems for stainless steel electropolishing represent a technological breakthrough for weld cleaning. With DLT & CGT portable systems, it is possible to electropolish, pickle, electropolish, and passivate welds on stainless steel, duplex, and superduplex components, delivering immediate and reliable results.
Systems, subcontract services and chemical products for stainless steel care
Excellent results and professional support!
For the care of your stainless steel, rely on true experts. Thanks to our team, corrosion and other issues affecting stainless steel will soon be a thing of the past.
Would you like more information or wish to speak with one of our managers? Contact us and discover how we can help you.
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