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Mechanical finishing before electropolishing a 316SS tank

August 30, 2011

Hello,

I am designing a small open top mixing tank, 1000 liters working volume, SS316 to be used for washcoat slurry. I am thinking of electropolishing the inside to reduce product sticking to the tank wall but I need to know what is the best finish to do before electropolishing and what is the best recommended electropolishing to do.

Thank you,

Ghazi Toutounji
design engineer - Mississauga, Ontario, Canada

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Hi, Ghazi.

For this particular application, where you're not concerned with waviness or with optical or aesthetic properties, I don't think mechanical pretreatment is required. The tank should be alkaline cleaned (preferably electrocleaned), thoroughly rinsed, and then electropolished. However, proper electropolishing requires a water-free solution plus careful control of current density to avoid etching, and is not as easy as falling off a log. I think you should send the tank out for electropolishing if you have no experience with it. Good luck.

Regards,

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
(Ted can offer longterm or instant help)
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
August 31, 2011

Thank you for the feedback and sorry for the late response.

Ghazi Toutounji
- Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
October 4, 2011

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