Abrasion wear is an extensive problem for stainless steels. In the on-going effort to increase the knowledgebase on abrasion, Expanite requested Bud Labs to measure the dry abrasion characteristics of untreated and Expanite treated samples of austenitic AISI316L using the ASTM G 65 Procedure

Labs to measure the dry abrasion characteristics of untreated and Expanite treated samples of austenitic AISI316L using the ASTM G 65 Procedure.

The ASTM G 65 Procedure is a standard test method for measuring abrasion using the dry sand/rubber wheel apparatus where weight loss is used as indicator for the wear resistance; the less the better.

The results are indisputable: The 316L with SuperExpanite is more abrasion resistant than the untreated sample approximately reducing abrasive wear by more than 60%.

The table below lists the observed weight losses and thereby the reduction on an Expanite hardened sample:

Not just a coating

The Expanite treatment effectively removes the oxide film covering stainless steels. This allows controlled incorporation of carbon and nitrogen atoms in the underlying metal. The hardened layer is characterized by an expansion of the material structure. We call this zone expanded austenite, expanded martensite, or simply, Expanite.

With the Expanite process it’s possible to increase the surface hardness of stainless steels by up to 10 times, while maintaining or even enhancing corrosion resistance. This method is considered unique since it’s suitable for austenitic-, ferritic-, martensitic and duplex stainless steels. Parts can be treated with extremely short lead times—a few days—which is previously unseen within surface hardening of stainless steel.

The Expanite technology can significantly increase the value of products across many industries—from knives, valves, mixers, and grinders for the food industry, to pumps and extruder screws, or injection parts for the automotive sector, as well as screws, bolts, and washers.

At its core, Expanite offers 3 different processes, each of which can be optimized according to customers’ requirements in terms of abrasion, galling, corrosion and scratch resistance. This means that Expanite can develop and customize solutions for a wide variety of companies and industries.

Expanite

Expanite was founded in 2010 by three scientists from The Technical University of Denmark. Expanite is based in Hilleröd, Denmark, has a treatment facility located in Twinsburg, Ohio and Expanite recently opened a treatment center in Frickenhausen, Germany. For further information, please contact Thomas Abel Sandholdt, CEO at Expanite, +45 2040 7207, or check our website: www.expanite.com.

Tsubaki has developed a special chain for the tray packing machinery widely used in the food and beverage industry. It is internally lubricated so that it is clean in use and does not need regular re-lubrication.

Tsubaki Traypacker Chain is a development of the company’s Lambda solution, which uses a special sintered oil-impregnated bush. Like the latest generation of Tsubaki Lambda Lube Free chain, the Traypacker is impregnated with NSF-H1 food grade lubricant as standard.

Tsubaki Traypacker Chain is a development of the company’s Lambda solution, which uses a special sintered oil-impregnated bush.

Tray packing machinery is common in the food and beverage industry and fits cardboard trays or boxes to items, often to create ‘multi-packs’, before distribution. Naturally, hygiene is paramount and standard lubricated chain can cause contamination of the machine, floor and end product, possibly resulting in increased maintenance requirements, damaged products and reduced profit. Furthermore the lubricated chain itself gets contaminated by dust, glue and paper particles, preventing lubrication to reach the critical areas.

To prevent such problems lubrication can be minimized or completely shut off. But this can cause chain stiffness and uneven elongation of the chain strands, which may lead to production errors and early replacement of the chain. With Tsubaki Traypacker Chain, the internal lubrication cannot transmit to products, which eradicates contamination. Also the consistent internal lubrication combats the risks of uneven wear and elongation, and does away with the need to apply expensive food grade lubricants.

Significantly Tsubaki Traypacker Chain is slightly narrower than standard Lambda chain, a requirement for most tray packing machines. Further, the machines require pushers to be fitted to the transport chain and for this Tsubaki’s designers have developed a bespoke solution in which the attachments are mounted by an engineered extended pin that allows flexible spacing so that different packing configurations can be accommodated.

Additionally, Traypacker Chain is supplied with Tsubaki’s Match & Tag Service to guarantee a minimum length tolerance between chain strands that run parallel for conveyance purposes in for instance packaging machinery. Multiple case studies prove that even in the most demanding 24/7 production processes Tsubaki Traypacker Chain shows an absolute minimum in elongation making its performance unsurpassed and offering unrivalled benefits year by year.

About Tsubaki

Established in 1917, Tsubakimoto Chain Company is the world’s premier manufacturer of power transmission products with strong market positions in premium quality industrial drive & conveyor chains and associated power transmission components such as cam clutches, reducers & linear actuators. With a turnover exceeding $1,5 Billion US Dollars & 6,500 employees, the Tsubaki group includes 46 production locations and 63 group companies worldwide. Our production and sales networks are now more developed than ever.

Tsubakimoto Europe B.V. serves Power Transmission customers in the Pan-European market, Africa and the Middle East from European headquarters located in Dordrecht, the Netherlands, along with a local subsidiary based in Nottingham, serving the UK market & Ireland and from the office in Gilching, Germany customers in Germany, Austria and Switzerland are served.

Brenntag, the global market leader in chemical distribution, has just announced it has completed the acquisition of the pipeline and chemicals services business segment of Greene’s Energy Group, LLC, a leading provider of integrated solutions for the Oil & Gas (O&G) industry in the USA, headquartered in Houston, Texas. The business is focused on pipeline cleaning and hydrostatic testing.

Markus Klähn, Member of the Management Board of Brenntag Group and CEO Brenntag North America: “The acquisition complements our existing product and service portfolio for the O&G business in the USA and supports our ability to comprehensively serve all segments of the industry.”

The acquired assets of the pipeline and chemicals services segment of Greene’s Energy Group, LLC, offers a full range of products and services for pipeline integrity management, new construction and maintenance support including several proprietary chemicals and large inventory of specialized equipment.

Anthony Gerace, Managing Director Mergers & Acquisitions at Brenntag Group: “The acquisition will expand our capabilities and service offering in this important segment and is a good opportunity for further consolidation of the still fragmented market of service providers to the O&G industry.”

The business unit generated sales of approximately 15.5 million USD in the financial year 2016.

About Brenntag:
Brenntag, the global market leader in chemical distribution, covers all major markets with its extensive product and service portfolio. Headquartered in Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany, the company operates a global network with more than 530 locations in 74 countries. In 2015, the company, which has a global workforce of more than 14,000 employees, generated sales of EUR 10.3 billion (USD 11.5 billion). Brenntag connects chemical manufacturers and chemical users. The company supports its customers and suppliers with tailor-made distribution solutions for industrial and specialty chemicals. With over 10,000 products and a world-class supplier base, Brenntag offers one-stop-shop solutions to around 180,000 customers. This includes specific application technology, an extensive technical support and value-added services such as just-in-time delivery, product mixing, formulation, repackaging, inventory management and drum return handling. Long-standing experience and local excellence in the individual countries characterize the global market leader for chemical distribution

In the first few weeks of 2017 there was significant growth in international salt trade, driven by de-icing markets and low shipping rates. Many of the new salt production projects due on stream by 2020 to supply the de-icing market will produce salt via solar recovery methods, letting nature take care of the expensive job of salt crystallisation for free. Solar salt production already accounts for an estimated 40% of salt production worldwide in 2017. Essam Madbouly of Cristal Global and AT Kordy of Egyptian Salt and Minerals (EMISAL) will be talking about new investments in solar salt production at a conference organised by Roskill, a leader in a leader in international metals and minerals research: Roskill's Salt 2017 conference takes place March 28 to 29 at the Renaissance hotel in Düsseldorf, Germany. 

Historically, Germany served as a centre for European salt trade, and today this industry is still served worldwide by maritime dry bulk shipping. Denny Sabah of Maritime Strategies International will be giving his perspective on salt and dry bulk shipping market trends and outlook on the first day at the conference, in a session which will also include insights from Robert van Muiden of Rotterdam Bulk Logistics and Hugo du Mez of the Port of Rotterdam Authority.

Increased investment by salt producers in new sources of cost effective production will underpin growth in the chloralkali sector in Asia.  Growth in salt consumption has been particularly strong in China, which is a net importer of salt despite its position as the largest salt producing country in the world. Competition within the salt industry, particularly over the lucrative and sporadic road de-icing market will continue to affect market shares. Patrick J. Laracy, President of potential new entrant to the market, Vulcan Minerals, will be describing at Salt 2017 how his company plans to take advantage of this market for salt. Per Nygaard, International Principal Manager for salt at Azelis, a leading de-icing salt distributor, will elaborate on how the de-icing salt supply chain works in Europe.

According to Roskill, world salt revenues have achieved a steady annual average growth rate to 2017, despite the slowdown in chloralkali markets in recent years.  The strongest regional growth in the medium term will continue to be in Asia, but the more mature markets of NAFTA and Europe are also growing. At the conference Roskill will aim to put raw material, regulatory and technology developments within the salt industry into context. The 15^th edition of Roskill's global salt report, Salt 2016 Global Industry Markets & Outlook, was published in late 2016

Roskill reviewed the production plans of more than 300 salt production assets worldwide during the research for its 2016 report. Germany's K+S has retained its position as the largest producer in the world, fending off a hostile takeover bid and announcing two major expansion projects during 2015/16. As the cost of shipping salt across oceans has fallen, traditional European salt producers are finding that they have to compete with new suppliers from as far away as Australia, Mexico and Chile. Wouter Lox of EuSalt - the European salt producers' association, will be speaking at the conference about the regulatory and legal challenges that European salt producers face in 2016. Vladimir Sedivy, the President of Salt Partners, a Swiss engineering consultancy, will present a paper in the same session on what drives the salt and chloralkali industry in Europe.

Chloralkali production is the largest end-use for salt. Chlorine is the raw material for the production of numerous organic chlorine compounds, the most important of which in terms of volume is ethylene dichloride, a chemical precursor to the 46Mtpy commodity polymer, PVC. Dr Jason Leadbitter of Inovyn Chlorvinyl will update delegates on Inovyn's sustainability programme for salt in PVC manufacture. Caustic soda also has a very wide range of end-uses including alumina manufacture, pulp and paper production, and chemical processing. Synthetic soda ash production is the next largest end-use for salt, and this in turn is mainly consumed in glass applications. Dr Henry Lau of Shihlien Chemical Industrial Jiangsu, a major Chinese soda ash producer, will be describing his company's new 300ktpy pharmaceutical grade salt facility at Salt 2017. Another major Asian chloralkali producer, Aditya Birla, will be putting forward an Indian perspective on chloralkali trends.

The USA remained by far the largest destination for salt shipments in 2016. Chile remained the main supplier to the USA in 2016, supplying an estimated 4.5Mt, mainly for road de-icing applications. Australian salt exports in 2016 were an estimated 8.5Mt, maintaining its longstanding position as the world's largest salt exporter. However, this total was down on exports in 2015. Australian producers export salt to Japan, China, South Korea and Indonesia for use in the chemicals industry. This decrease in salt shipments from Australia to Asia during 2016 was partly due to increased competition from Indian exports. Between 2010 and 2015, Indian salt exports to China increased from 0.4Mt to 2.3Mt, averaging 42% py growth. Dev Salt, a major Indian producer of solar salt, will be describing the current status of the Indian salt industry in 2017 at the conference and explaining how Indian producers have achieved such spectacular growth in exports.

Long distance trade is a critical topic for the salt industry and this conference brings together salt producers, specifiers, traders, end-users and equipment manufacturers from every continent. The Roskill conference provides an international forum to debate the current technical issues and market developments (www.roskill.com). As low shipping rates facilitate the movement of salt as never before, these industry players need a regular opportunity to meet and discuss business.