Saving costs with antifouling coatings
Water droplets on a steel surface with an antifouling coating. © Fraunhofer IST
For example, the milk pasteurization line is stopped once again and cleaned after just one operating cycle because, for example, milk proteins have formed deposits in the pipes, boilers or heat exchangers of the equipment used.
A further disadvantage of contamination by crystallization, corrosion or chemical and biological reactions is a considerably higher level of energy consumption during the production cycle.
At the Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films IST, technical solutions and coatings have been developed for different areas of application by which fouling effects of this kind can be drastically reduced.
Of particular note here is the fact that the coatings can be tailored to specific requirements, and it is precisely in the chemical, pharmaceutical and foodstuffs industries that this can yield improved productivity and significant cost reductions.
The Fraunhofer IST will give an overview of the latest antifouling coatings at the Hannover Surface Technology fair from April 13 – 17, 2015 (Hall 3, Stand D26).
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