ACAT not only supplies polymers and machines for industrial and municipal sewage treatment plants – but also iron- and aluminium-containing mixed products.

The AluStar® products are well known for their lasting effect. For three years now we have been specializing in metal salt mixing products. We combine the properties of iron II, iron III and aluminium to a very effective aid for the treatment of wastewater. Our standard products are called AluStar® 4020, AluStar® 4050 and AluStar® 4060. The products are very different and they are ideal for the precipitation of phosphates and for the control of H2S. We are pleased to produce another product for your individual requirements.

ALUSTAR® 4020

• Precipitation of phosphates, pre- or simul-
  taneous precipitation
• Prevention of the formation of H2S

• Formation of stable flakes
• Improvement of the settling properties in
  the secondary clarification
• Prevention of bulking and floating sludge
• Optimisation of biological wastewater
  treatment
• Elimination of turbidity in the supernatant
• Reduction of total undissolved substances at
  the outlet of the treatment plant

 ALUSTAR® 4050

• Precipitation of the phosphates, pre- or
  simultaneous precipitation
• Prevention of the formation of H2S
• Prevention of bulking and floating sludge
• Stable flocculation
• Conditioning of sludge
• Control of filamentous bacteria
• Due to the high aluminum content this
  product is especially suitable in winter

ALUSTAR® 4060

• Precipitation of the phosphates, pre- or
  simultaneous precipitation
• Prevention of the formation of H2S
• Acute and preventive treatment of bulking
  and floating sludge
• Improvement of the sedimentation proper-
  ties and reduction of sludge volume index
• Control of filamentous bacteria

The above-mentioned characteristics of our products should help you to choose the suitable product and of course we are happy to advise you on site.

Our responsibility toward the environment is an important pillar of ACAT’s mission. ACAT is constantly making efforts to identify the direct and indirect impacts of its customers business on the environment to help minimize them. ACAT is actively working on circular economy by promoting use of low-impact and regenerative materials. Our team is working in the steel production field to contribute towards it‘s re-use of acidic wastes. In particular, ACAT is taking care, in collaboration with 2 multinational companies, of reuse of Spent Pickling Liquor (SPL) in two big groups of steel factories.

PICKLING PROCESS

The purpose of pickling is to achieve a perfectly and chemically clean metallic surface of the steel to facilitate the metallurgical reaction that generate final desired product. During the hot rolling of steel, oxygen from the atmosphere reacts with the surface iron to form a scale of oxides. This scale needs to be remove before steel is further processed in cold rolling mill.

Remove of scale is important for the following reasons:

• A dirty surface will cause the rusting of the strip.
• Scale accelerate corrosion.
• During coating of the strip, scale would causes poor to total adhesion failure.
• Scale removal is essential for cold rolling, annealing and coating operations.

SCALE REMOVAL

The most used method of scale removal for hot rolled strip is by pickling. The pickling of hot rolled strips is one of the finishing steps of production process by which scale is removed from the surface of steel by dissolution in an acid before hot strip is cooled down and rolled. Pickling is a chemical process and it could be done either with Sulphuric Acid (H2SO4) or Hydrochloric Acid (HCl). Pickling process with HCl acid started in 1964 and gradually main pickling installations have adopted HCl instead of H2SO4 . Hydrochloric acid is now the primary cleaning agent for the process of steel production. HCl solution dissolve the scale from the surface of the hot rolled strip without any significant attack on the steel strip. In this process the following chemical reactions takes place:

FeO + 2 HCl = FeCl2 + H2O

Fe2O3 + Fe + 6 HCl = 3 FeCl2 + 3 H2O

Fe3O4 + Fe + 8 HCl = 4 FeCl2 + 4H2O

 The exhausted acid solution (SPL) can cause severe environmental damage if discharged without an appropriate treatment.

In the small and medium-sized enterprises, the traditional treatment of SPL is an alkali neutralization.
Neutralize excess of HCL with Lime:

2HCl + Ca(OH)2 = CaCl2 + 2H2O

 This neutralize the acid but not solving the problem, as simultaneously a reaction converts the ferrous chloride (FeCl2) to a solid ferrous hydroxide (FeOH2).

FeCl2 + Ca(OH)2 = Fe(OH)2 + CaCl2

With further flocculation, sedimentation, filtration, and sludge dewatering the treatment effect of this process is in general acceptable, but needs a large amount of chemicals, with production of a lot of sludge to be disposed. Alternatively, concentrate solutions of ferrous chloride can be used to produce Ferric Chlo-ride (FeCl3), or used as coagulant in wastewater treatment plants in particular for precipitation of phosphorus.

The action of bivalent or trivalent iron salts converts phosphorus to a solid, insoluble precipitate that can be separate in the sedimentation tank and may be landfilled after separation or used for phosphorus recovery process.

 FERRIC CHLORIDE

Ferric Chloride (FeCl3) is largely used, as coagulant in sewage treatment and drinking water production. Ferric chloride is used due to its high efficiency, effectiveness in clarification and very good turbidity removal. Ferric Chloride is usually produced and sold as a concentrated solution with a concentration around of 40% by weight.

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PRODUCTION OF FERRIC CHLORIDE

Ferrous chloride can be converted to

ferric chloride by chlorination:

FeCl2 + 1/2 Cl2 = FeCl3

Pickling solutions are an ideal iron salt source for above reaction, as these solutions are composed of ferrous chloride and diluted hydrochloric acid. SPL (FeCl2) is converted in ferric chloride normally using chlorine gas.

FROM A WASTE TO A RESOURCE

Production of ferrous metal products consumes high quantities of limited natural resources (iron ores) and is very energy consuming. However, ferrous metals are 100% recyclable and can be recycled unlimited amounts of times.

Re-Use of SPL (FeCl2) coming from steel production process saves not only natural resources, but also reduce substantially impact on environment.

Wuppermann stands for experience and expertise in the manufacture of quality steel products — for innovative product development, streamlined production, and first-class finishing. Ever since its foundation in 1872, the family-owned company has pursued a strategy of long-term growth and the steady creation of value in the interest of its customers, employees and shareholders.

The latest expansion took place in Hungary with HungaryKft, a new gigantic plant for the production of flat products. With this plant situated in the port of Györ-Gönyü the family company has made the largest investment in its more than 140 years of company history. Kemira has built an ultra-modern location with pickling and hot-dip galvanizing lines having a processing capacity of 500,000 tons of steel per year.

Wuppermann Hungary Kft., the new Wuppermann plant for flat products in Hungary.

„We have put our entire experience into this work, especially in the development of the hot-rolled strip pickling and galvanizing line. The test and commissioning phase with the first pickled material and the rampup curve for the first galvanized strip were carried out already in autumn 2016. The “first coil„ has already been produced at the new longitudinal section.“ Carl Swoboda, the division manager for the distribution of flat and tube products says. „The first split belts have already been successfully processed for the future supply security of the two Wuppermann locations in Judenburg and Altmünster (Austria) and the trial operation is running smoothly,“ Mario Dorfer, one of the two managing directors in Hungary, explains. Finally, at the beginning of this year, the production of the film-coated hot-rolled strip „WProtect“ started in Hungary. This is strip steel, protected by a zinc layer and an additional molten high-performance foil. The polyolefin film is applied on both sides immediately after the galvanizing process.

„This sounds simple, but in fact it is a very complex process, where an optimal combination of strip temperature and contact pressure results in an excellent chemical and mechanical bond between foil and galvanized steel strip,“ Mr.Dorfer explains. „WProtect defies virtually any corrosion by wetness, mechanical abrasion or numerous chemicals. Decades of undamaged use, for example in sewage technology, proves this optimum corrosion resistance. „

Currently, Wuppermann Hungary employs more than 100 people. When fully operational, some 200 employees will be working at the Hungarian site. On the 100,000 m² site four production and logistics halls with a total area of approximately 32,000 m² have been built.

The construction of the production facilities required:

• Backfill with approx. 400,000 m3 of rubble. This corresponds to approx. 36,000 dump trucks.
• Processing of 14,000 m3 of concrete. This corresponds to about 400 single-family homes.
• Use of 7,000 tons of steel. With this amount the Bayarena in Leverkusen could be built 2½ times.
• The strip galvanizing system weighs 3,200 tons. This corresponds to 1,600 Audi Q7.

The official opening of the site is expected to take place in September 2017.

What does a steel plant have to do with phosphate precipitation / elimination?

Steel mainly consists of iron. When iron is refined into steel, part of the iron dissolves and iron II chloride is obtained as a byproduct. It usually is mixed with pure hydrochloric acid to make it usable as a standalone product, and magnetite or waste iron is added to increase the iron content, however, valuable and unfortunately expensive raw materials have to be used.

Depending on the purity of the substances used, contamination may occur.

Kemiras Way to PIX 209W

With an optimized process developed by the Kemira Company it is possible to produce divalent iron salts in the highest concentration and in excellent purity by concentrating and purifying. This process has extremely great economic and environmental benefits, so it has been easily approved by the Hungarian authorities. Constant quality controls ensure the consistently good effectiveness of this already proven innovative product.

Exclusive at ACAT: PIX 209W, a well-proven, and yet completely new product for phosphate precipitation

Kemira and ACAT have committed themselves to supply the Wuppermann Group with the required chemicals and to market PIX 209W used as a precipitant in the environmental technology. We are very pleased to expand our portfolio in the field of phosphate precipitation with this new product and to offer our customers another “intelligent product”! See the following article for details on PIX 209W. For any further questions, at any time our employees are at your disposal with advice and assistance!