Already believing in chromium-free very early
Development of the ENVIROX procedure already began in 1996.
The first procedure designated ENVIROX A (Alfipas 740) on a silicate basis was already developed in 1997. However, due to usage being limited to dipping plants, this procedure was replaced in the same year by the ENVIROX S (Alfipas 745 - 746) that contains titanium. ENVIROX S can be used in dipping, spraying and flushing procedures.
Due to many requests for a “no-rinse” procedure (“without subsequent rinsing steps”), the ENVRIOX NR (no-rinse; Alficoat 748 resp. 748/3) was developed in 2000. Even today, this “millennium” version is the most used chromium-free ENVIROX procedure for corrosion protection on aluminium surfaces prior to coating.
An interesting development since 2010 has been the ENVIROX SG (Alfipas 7816), a procedure containing zirconium, which was developed especially for corrosion protection on iron/steel surfaces. The procedure can also be used on aluminium and zinc surfaces and is therefore particularly interesting for job-coating companies that have to process different surfaces.
Lifecycle of the ENVIROX S and NR process
1997 – ENVIROX S development was completed
In 1998, a 1059 m² company facade was pretreated with ENVIROX S as part of the GSB licence
The first production-related use of ENVIROX NR abroad followed in 2000
Successful initial licence from GSB International with 510 m² production goods in 2001
2001 – A shower cubicle manufacturer in Germany first uses ENVIROX S and later NR
2002 – Pretreatment of “white goods” at a large household device manufacturer (ENVIROX S)
The Qualicoat licence for ENVIROX NR was granted in 2003
Successful one-year AASS - test after 8760 hours test time (see photo below)
2003 – ENVIROX S used successfully in the medical technology sector
2005 - First use of ENVIROX NR with vertical flushing technology (“waterfall”)
2008 – The first automatically-controlled vertical system with ENVIROX NR goes into operation
2009 – Conclusion of 10 years of outdoor exposure (ENVIROX S, GSB – International) in Hoek v. Holland
2012 – ENVIROX NR also passes the 10 years of outdoor exposure
2013 – ENVIROX NR entered into the DGNB Navigator System (www.dgnb-navigator.de)
In 2017, ENVIROX NR is already used in more than 48 (GSB / Qualicoat) plants worldwide
2019 - More than 132 million m² of aluminium surfaces around the world have been treated with ENVIROX NR
Special long-term check according to ISO 9227, AASS:
Alficoat 748 + powder coat after 8760 hours = 365 days in the acetic acid-salt spray test cabinet
Despite the test time being more than 8 times as long, there was only a small amount of corrosion on the aluminium profiles:Overview of all chromium-free ENVIROX systems
Process | Characteristic |
|---|---|
ENVIROX S | Chromium-free, basis: titanium, for Al, with subsequent rinsing |
ENVIROX NR | Main product, “no-rinse” procedure, single-component, for Al |
ENVIROX FZA | Post-treatment of phosphated surfaces, special product for Fe, Zn, Al |
ENVIROX SG | Sol-gel system, basis: zircon, for Fe, Al and Zn, use: job coating |
ENVIROX EP | For special applications, pickling passivation, for Fe |
ENVIROX ZOX | Combination procedure with ENVIROX SG for galvanised surfaces |
ENVIROX PREANO | To improve the paint adhesion on pre-anodised Al |
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