Pickled slit strip is the primary product for many different applications at our customers in the furniture, automotive and construction industries. Therefore, excellent and consistent quality and reliability of the product are essential. We are pickling our hot-rolled steel strip in our own facilities and supply it as pickled slit strip or pickled wide strip.
Our pickled slit strip is also used for the in-house production of pickled tubes and profiles . This enables us to guarantee the best quality of the starting material for our tubes and profiles
Why is steel pickled?
During strip production, the cooling of hot-rolled steel strip results in a specific scale layer (= a layer with different iron oxides and thicknesses) on the steel surface, depending on the cooling conditions and steel grade. Before the steel strip can be further processed and refined, this scale layer must be completely removed. Pickling is applied for this purpose.
How does the pickling process work?
At Wuppermann, the steel strip is pickled only with hydrochloric acid. Pickling with hydrochloric acid is more effective and energy-saving than pickling with sulfuric acid.
Hydrochloric acid chemically dissolves the oxides of the scale layer during pickling and removes them completely. The result is a light grey, slightly rough strip surface. The remaining acid residues on the strip surface are rinsed off in a cascade sink. The steel strip is then dried. After pickling and drying, the steel is ideally prepared for subsequent further processing, such as hot-dip galvanizing.
What happens with the acid?
After pickling, used hydrochloric acid is recycled and reused so that fresh acid can be saved. Only small losses during the process have to be added by fresh acid.
Pickling produces a waste product, so-called iron chloride. It can be used further. Iron chloride is the basic material for the paint industry or can be used to generate energy in bio power plants.
Pickled steel for optimum further processing
The demands on the end product are becoming more and more demanding. Quality must therefore start with the pickled steel strip to ensure optimum further processing. The strip that goes directly and thus economically into Wuppermann's own galvanizing and subsequent processing is of selected, consistent quality.