Henkel process helps beer barrel manufacturer improve product quality

20 November 2018


Henkel has helped Envases Técnicos Zaragoza (Entinox), a leading Spanish manufacturer of stainless steel beer barrels (“kegs”), set up an innovative pickling and passivating line using a nitric acid-free Bonderite process. Benefits include superior HSE performance and bath life over traditional mixed acid pickling systems as well as outstanding corrosion resistance.

The challenge in pickling solutions for stainless steel lies in removing all scale, iron contamination and welding oxides for achieving a fully passivated surface with an even, clean and aesthetic finish. In the food industry and for key products such as beer kegs, the surface must also be absolutely free from any traces of pickling agents after the process. In addition, manufacturers face increasingly strict health, safety and environmental (HSE) regulations with regards to the release of potentially harmful substances, such as NOx emissions in air and nitrate effluents in water.

“In our state-of-the-art keg plant at Zaragoza, we decided to implement Henkel’s Bonderite C-CP 1300 pickling and passivating process because of its excellent combination of high productivity and uncompromising sustainability,” states José Enrique Gerona, General Manager of Entinox. “Moreover, Henkel’s experts were instrumental in helping us set up and optimize the process.”

Bonderite C-CP 1300 is the latest generation of Henkel’s established nitric acid-free cleaning technologies that were originally developed several years ago. In contrast to common mixed acid pickling systems, which are still used in many stainless steel segments today, it contains no HNO3 (nitric acid), while delivering excellent pickling and passivating results. Furthermore, its absence of citric compounds also addresses the growing concern among beer brewers about residual flavors in the barrels.

“Our Bonderite C-CP 1300 process was developed with a clear target to eliminate the risks associated with HNO3 in traditional mixed acid pickling systems,” explains Ronald Elemans, Business Development Manager for Cleaners at Henkel. “Nitrogen oxide emissions from these systems can entail significant neutralization costs, and there is practically no feasible way of removing nitrate effluents in waste water. Both factors also limit the possibility of increasing the productivity of the pickling process without heavy investments for NOx and NO3 ion removal.”



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