Four Methods for Cleaning Stainless Steel Plates

Commonly used industrial cleaning methods for stainless steel plates primarily include physical cleaning, electronic cleaning, electrostatic cleaning, and chemical cleaning. Below are the principles and procedures for each of these methods.

Physical Cleaning Method

This method uses manual tools and machinery to apply external force to remove various contaminants without changing their composition. In other words, this is a method that doesn't alter the chemical molecular composition of the contaminants. It mainly includes mechanical cleaning methods, sweepers and scraper cleaning methods, tube drilling cleaning methods, and shot blasting cleaning methods. The second type is hydraulic cleaning, which includes low-pressure water cleaning (low-pressure cleaning pressure is 196-686 kPa, approximately 2-7 kg/cm², equivalent to 0.2-0.7 MPa). The third type is high-pressure water cleaning, with a pressure of 4900 kPa, approximately 50 kg/cm², equivalent to 5 MPa. This method is also called high-pressure water jet method or high-pressure cleaning machine.

Electronic Cleaning Method

The descaling principle involves using a high-frequency electric field to change the molecular structure of water, enabling it to prevent and remove scale. When water passes through a high-frequency electric field, its molecular physical structure changes. The original chain-like large molecules break down into individual water molecules. The positive and negative ions of salts in the water are surrounded by individual water molecules, reducing their movement speed, decreasing effective collision frequency, and lowering electrostatic attraction. This prevents them from forming structures on heated wall surfaces, thereby achieving scale prevention. At the same time, because the dipole moment of water molecules increases, their ability to absorb salt's positive and negative ions (scale molecules) increases, making the scale on heated surfaces or pipe walls softer and easier to fall off, producing a descaling effect.

Electrostatic Descaling Method

Its descaling principle is the same as electronic descaling, also achieving scale prevention and removal by changing the state of water molecules. The difference is that the latter uses the effect of an electrostatic field rather than electronic action. The specific mechanism utilizes the polarity of water molecules (also called dipoles). When water dipoles pass through an electrostatic field, each water dipole will arrange in an orderly manner according to positive and negative charges. If the water contains dissolved salts, their positive and negative ions will be surrounded by water dipoles and arranged in positive and negative order within the water dipole group. They cannot move on their own, so they cannot approach the pipe (vessel) walls and deposit on them to form scale. At the same time, oxygen released in the water can create an extremely thin oxide layer on the pipe wall, which can prevent corrosion of the pipe (vessel) walls.

Chemical Cleaning Method

Chemical reagents can be used to remove surface contamination or coverings (such as scale layers) through chemical reactions, such as acid washing or alkaline washing of scale layers. To prevent the base material from being corroded during chemical cleaning or to control the corrosion rate within an acceptable range, appropriate amounts of corrosion inhibitors and additives that provide activation, penetration, and wetting effects are usually added to the chemical cleaning solution.

Enhanced Cleaning with Wipestar Industrial Wipes

To complement these cleaning methods and achieve optimal results on stainless steel surfaces, Wipestar's multi-functional industrial wipes offer an excellent solution. These specially engineered wipes are designed with advanced fiber technology that effectively removes residues, fingerprints, and light contamination from stainless steel without scratching the surface.

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