HOLDING THE LINE ON GALVANIZING COSTS Good galvanizing is the result of carefully maintaining the proper surface on the

work pieces during each step of the process. Careful attention to operating conditions also leads to economical galvanizing with minimum losses and maximum profits. Zinc is usually the single largest material cost factor in a hot dip galvanizing operation. Ideally, all the zinc purchased will be converted to zinc on the work pieces being galvanized. But in many plants, only 50 to 60 percent of the zinc consumed actually ends up on the work. Even this figure contains a certain amount of zinc loss due to zinc applied over and above that specified as the coating thickness. The 40 to 50 percent not used in coatings is accounted for by the following sources of zinc loss: Dross (contains about 96% zinc) Zinc Oxide or Ash (contains about 70% zinc) Flux Skimmings (contain about 40% zinc) Spatter (100% zinc) Zinc stripped off work carriers Additional zinc entrained during careless removal of dross, ash or flux skimmings. Identifying and monitoring each source of zinc loss are the first steps toward improved profitability. Ways to avoid producing excessive coating thickness may include: 1. Reduce excessive surface roughness due to over pickling and/or mechanical finishing involving grit or shot blast. 2. Avoid cooling prefluxed pieces which then require increased immersion time. 3. Avoid removal of work too rapidly to permit adequate zinc drainage. 4. Optimize angle of withdrawal to get best zinc drainage. 5. Be certain silicon steel pieces are properly identified and galvanizing conditions adjusted to adequately process them. 6. Keep the zinc bath temperature below 900o F (482o C), preferably at 850o F (454o C).

In actual practice, compromises are often made to improve one processing step at the expense of another. These trade-off decisions are best made only when the galvanizer has developed current cost data for each step of the process. He knows the cost of each source of zinc loss and which sources can produce income through resale value of the by-product. Stripped zinc not only has no resale value but also represents an added cost penalty where pollution control procedures require removal of zinc from waste solutions. One galvanizer may reduce zinc losses by improving his rinsing operation, thus reducing dross formation due to iron in the pickle solution. Another galvanizer may use abrasive blasting to save time in removing lacquer coatings. He knows he has an appreciable zinc loss due to excessive coating thickness but he carefully controls this loss by preheating the work pieces so that immersion time can be kept to a minimum.