Environmental

The surface treatment industry has had a poor record in terms of its pollution of the environment.

The Keronite process has specifically been designed to be environmentally clean and as such should be considered as a CleanTech. The process does not use heavy metals or other bio-accumulative toxins. The process does not use strong acids or alkalis.

The primary purpose of the technology is to enhance the durability of the components treated and thereby reduce the impact they will have on the environment.

The technology is aimed at the treatment of light alloys such as aluminium, magnesium and titanium, which can in themselves play an important role in the battle against climate change.

Light alloys are, as the name implies, lighter and less dense than conventional materials such as steel. The primary constraints on their wider adoption have been that they can be soft and poor in their ability to withstand wear, abrasion and chemical attack. The Keronite treatment for many applications reduces or completely eliminates these weaknesses.

By employing Light alloy, designers can make a contribution to the reduction in CO₂ emissions.
In the transport sectors in particular every 10% saving in a vehicle's weight gives a 7% reduction in fuel consumption, the obvious answer is to make lighter vehicles.

This means that aluminium, magnesium and titanium are all becoming increasingly popular in these sectors.

In their "raw" state the very characteristics that cause problems in deployment help in delivering Energy Efficiency during manufacture. Light alloys require less energy to machine and because most of these alloys melt at temperatures well below that of steel they are less energy intensive when cast. These materials are also suitable for powder metallurgy techniques that enable them to be formed in processes a little like the injection moulding processes used in the formation of plastics. This produces very low loss "near net shape" products in highly efficient processes. The Keronite technology can then be used to provide a surface treatment that enhances their durability and further adds to their environmental contribution.

Like many surface treatment technologies, Keronite is quite energy intensive, but because Keronite ceramic provides such effective protection against corrosion and wear, treatment times can be much faster than those seen in conventional systems.

As a part of our policy of continuous improvement, Keronite Group is focused on reducing energy consumption even further and is committed to achieving a step improvement within an aggressive time frame.

The primary function of the Keronite process is to enhance the durability of the components it treats. However, at the end of their working life, Keronite enables a further contribution to the environment by not detracting in any way from the ability to recycle the used component. This is because the Keronite process is largely a conversion of the component substrate rather than an addition to it and because the process does not involve toxic chemicals, nothing has been added or introduced to the component that would increase its impact on the environment.