The company had previously used a traditional magnetic roller separator to protect its electrolytic cleaning line (ECL) from ferrous contamination. However, with a magnetic performance of just 6000 gauss, the collection performance was inadequate and significant problems were occurring with the quality of its finished products.
An ECL is used within the steel industry to help clean and strip the surface of the steel sheet of rolling dust by using an alkaline solution. The material passes between electrodes, immersed in tanks containing the electrolyte. Whilst this technique is more effective in cleaning cold rolled steel than conventional cleaning processes, the instability of the chemicals can and do cause problems.
Reduced effectiveness
Whilst a magnetic roll separator can offer a level of protection within these circumstances, its effectiveness can be significantly reduced, leading to contamination removal between 30-40%. Despite the magnetic roller being installed, the alkaline solution was still heavily saturated with dust particles and was suffering from an unstable PH level that combined were leading to significant rusting during the process resulting in scratching of the final product.
Filtration efficiency
Effective filtration of the alkaline solution is paramount to ensure optimal efficiency of the ECL and simply having any magnetic filter or separator is not guaranteed to solve the ferrous contamination problem. The efficiency of the filtration depends on the magnetic material type, size of the magnet, magnetic strength and also the fluid flow dynamics. A low strength magnet or minimal exposure to the fluid will not perform to the required levels. In this case, 400mg/m2 of contaminant was remaining in the fluid after passing through the magnetic roller.
Prolonging pump lifespan
It is important not only to use the correct product for the process in question, but the higher level of solution protection provides additional benefits, including prolonging the lifespan of the pump as well as a reduction in associated costs related to maintenance and wastage. Passing 500 l/min, with over 10,000 l of fluid used in a by-pass manner, the Eclipse Magnetics' Filtramag+, located on the return line, reduced contamination in this application within the alkaline solution from 400mg/m2 to just 30mg/m2 by removing the fine dust particles that were causing problems.
Ankrish Kapur, director of sales and strategy at KleenOil India explained: “The magnetic roller was not offering enough protection to the fluid in this application, and it highlights the importance of choosing the correct method of magnetic protection. Due to the fine particles circulating within the alkaline solution, significant rusting was being created during the ECL process that was causing damage to the steel sheet. We recommended Filtramag+, a highly effective magnetic filtration system to our client as its ability to remove even the finest particles from fluids would significantly improve the issues that the business was facing. By installing the Filtramag+, our client was instantly offered higher levels of protection against the damage that were being caused by the contaminated solution. We work regularly with Eclipse Magnetics high-performance products and always see significant, positive results soon after installation of the filter.”
Effective magnetic filtration
The Filtramag+ magnetic filter from Eclipse Magnetics offers high-intensity 11,000 Gauss, patented Neodymium magnetic circuits, making it particularly effective for use with materials that have lower magnetic permeability such as cast iron and tungsten carbide. It is designed for harsh chemical wash systems, with its dual-flow technology ensuring that extraction rates are maximised as ferrous particles are exposed to the magnets twice on a single pass through the filter.
As a result of the installation, the company is no longer suffering from damaged finished components, has reduced its scrappage and waste, as well as prolonging the life of the pump.
