Things You Should Know About Citric Acid Passivation

Passivation of a metal is a process that is carried out to remove the potential impurities from the metal and make it safer and more useful for both domestic and industrial use. When it comes to passivation of stainless steel, the industries follow a two-way process, and both the ways need to be performed simultaneously. The first step aims at removing the iron and iron compounds from the upper surface of the metals. It is an important step that prevents the metal from corroded. This first step is usually termed as Pickling and the industries some specific acidic chemical for that.

However, the second step is more decisive where the industries use Citric Acid Passivation process. Due to some of it's exclusively features, this process has emerged a better alternative for Nitric Acid Passivation. Citric acid is completely organic by nature, and that is why it is easy ad safe to use. On the other hand, Nitric Acid is a hard mineral acid that works fast to remove the iron and iron compounds from the surface of the metal, especially stainless steel.

When applied, Citric Acid is a gentle yet effective agent for passivation. It is biodegradable, and seldom comes up with any harmful smoke or gases. Unlike Nitric Acid, Citric Acid is not a Chromium oxidizer so it does not involve any complicated procedure for passivation. Due to its gentle and clearer impact, Citric Acid Passivation is found to be very effective for the passivation of smaller stainless steel parts. The industry leaders believe that this process of passivation is effective as well as less risky for everyone. As far as the impact is concerned, it works fine.