As Advanced High-Strength Steels (AHSS) continue to evolve into ever stronger and valuable materials, the challenge to efficiently descale and pickle them at the mill level also increases.

Increased alloy contents can yield very complex oxide structures.  As alloy stratification and concentration occur, pickling rates can decrease dramatically.  Suddenly, conventional hydrochloric acid pickling which has been effective for decades is less so when these alloy-rich strata are encountered.

To solve these production issues, Kolene^® Corporation has been developing ancillary descaling processes that help to eliminate high alloy pickling bottlenecks.  Kolene Oxigen-X^® – in conjunction with hydrochloric acid pickling – can significantly increase pickling rates to those you would expect with low alloy steels.

When Oxigen-X comes into contact with high alloy strata, it quickly reacts with alloy oxides and forms alkali metal salts.  Many of these salts are water soluble; remaining residues are freely soluble in conventional hydrochloric acid pickling.  Oxigen-X is effective on most types of AHSS. Scales that contain alloying elements such as aluminum, carbon, chromium, manganese, molybdenum, silicon, and titanium are reactive with Oxigen-X .

Our labs are available for sample processing of your alloy coupons with our Oxigen-X process.  Contact us today to discuss how we can help improve your pickling performance.