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Activity Examples of Kao’s eco-chemical product development

Detergent and rinse used to remove oil that clings to steel sheets during rolling process

Kao’s steel-sheet detergent and rinse, which contributes to reduced energy consumption during the steel-sheet production process, removes oil with hot water at a lower temperature than that previously required.

Steel sheets are manufactured from the production of iron and steel, which is passed through hot- and cold-rolling and surface-treatment processes. However, it is necessary to eliminate the rolling oil that clings to the surface of steel sheets during the cold-rolling process and the fine iron particles that occur when the steel sheets are stretched thin. During cleaning and rinsing operations, the water temperature is increased to reduce time; thus, a significant amount of energy is consumed.

Contributing to reduction of CO2 emission in the iron and steel industry

Cold-rolling detergent eliminates the rolling oil that clings to the surface of steel sheets after the cold-rolling process and the fine iron particles that occur when the steel sheets are stretched thin. These cleaning steps are sequenced at high speeds; thus, the time required for the rinsing and drying processes is very short. To obtain high-cleaning performance in a short period of time, the detergent is heated to 80°C or more to increase the fluidity of the adhered rolling oil, which accelerates the separation and breakdown of dirt. In addition, in order to quickly dry the steel-sheet surface after rinsing, the rinse water is generally heated to at least 70°C before use. The large quantities of CO2 generated by burning large amounts of coal and fuel oil to heat the rinse water have become an environmental issue. Kao has developed a detergent that can clean at 40°C as well as other detergents that can clean at 80°C, which, combined with the prevention of defective products, contribute greatly to improve productivity. In addition to the 70°C rinse process, we have developed a low-temperature rinse agent that controls the amount of water that clings to steel sheets, which contributes to a reduction in fuel consumption needed as a heat source.

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Contributing to realization of a low-carbon society through the development of products that can clean at low temperatures

Iron and steel are indispensable in everyday life which used as materials in products such as building structures, vehicles, machinery, containers, and household goods. However, these materials require large amounts of energy and emit large amount of CO2 during the production process.
Kao is striving toward the realization of a low-carbon society by utilizing our core technology in surface chemistry to advance the development of high-quality products that quickly permeate and mix easily to rolling oil even at low temperatures to aid in the manufacturing of environmentally friendly steel products.

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