At first glance electrolytic cleaning and electropolishing look to be identical procedures. They both involve creating an electrical circuit between the stainless steel being processed and the tool being passed over it. Furthermore, both processes use the same electrolytic cleaning solution to aid in removing the contaminants. However, the two procedures not only have different…

Stainless steel’s utility is, as its name implies, largely due to its ability to remain corrosion-free where other materials would react to the substances they come in contact with. However, even with this well-known resistance, rust can still form on stainless steel surfaces. Known as “rouge” it rests on the surface of the stainless steel,…

Not long after its initial development in the first decades of the 20th century, stainless steel was soon incorporated into the food making process. Its resistance to corrosion, the ease with which it can be cleaned and sterilized with steam, and its lack of a need of a protective surface coating have all led to…

Since just before the turn of this century, the vast majority of the food and beverage industry has come under increased scrutiny designed to ensure the safety of the food stream from farm or factory to the consumer’s table. The contributing factors have included outbreaks of foodborne illnesses, concerns about bioterrorism and the desire to…

What is the Passivation Process? As defined in MIL-STD-753C, the passivation process is the final treatment/cleaning process used to remove iron from the surface of corrosion resistant steel parts such that a more uniform formation of a passive surface is obtained thus enhancing corrosion resistance. Stainless steel is different from other metals in that as…

Stainless steel is used in many aerospace applications because it is able to maintain its structural integrity over a wide temperature range while remaining chemically inert (passive), resisting corrosion and high-temperature oxidation. There are a number of different grades of stainless steel. They are all primarily alloys of iron, chromium and nickel in different combinations…

Cleaning to perfection is a sophisticated process and yet vital to product integrity. Dr Brent Ekstrand, VP of Science & Technology at Astro Pak, sheds lights on contaminants and the tests performed to measure them. Astro Pak has been recently featured in Cleanroom Technology. Cleanroom Technology is the leading international publication for cleanroom operators and…

It depends on what the desired outcome is. Chemical passivation will attain a chrome to iron ratio above 1.0 (Cr/Fe), without producing any measurable change in the finish characteristics of the surface while Electropolishing (EP) is designed to remove surface damage from mechanical polishing (MP) and produce a more cleanable featureless smooth surface finish (Fig….

Congress passed the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) in 2011 as a response to an increase in reported incidents of foodborne illnesses in the preceding decade. The FSMA requires many manufacturers and transporters in the food and beverage industry (including breweries and wineries) in many cases to comply with current good manufacturing practices (cGMP) and…

Did you know you can perform vessel reconditioning on-site? There are several reasons to evaluate this process. On-site reconditioning reduces downtime when you compare it to the replacement of a vessel. It doesn’t require re-validation of the vessel since you only need to treat the surface of the existing vessel. You can monitor the progress…