Method for the plasma cleaning of the surface of a material coated with an organic substance and the installation for carrying out said method

• US 7,674,339 B2
• Filed: 02/19/2003
• Issued: 03/09/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 02/19/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Usinor
• Original Assignee: Usinor
• Inventors: Silberberg, Eric, Reniers, Francois, Buess-Herman, Claudine, Michel, Eric
• Primary Examiner(s): Deo; Duy-Vu N
• Application Number:
  US10/504,596
• Publication Number:
  US 20050161433A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,575 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 134/2
• CPC Class Codes: B08B 7/0035 by radiant energy, e.g. UV, laser, light beam or the like
• CPC Class Codes: C23G 5/00 Cleaning or de-greasing metallic material by other methods; Apparatus for cleaning or de-greasing metallic material with organic solvents
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/32348 Dielectric barrier discharge

Abstract

The invention relates to a method of cleaning the surface of a material (4) that is coated with an organic substance. The inventive method is characterised in that it comprises the following steps, consisting in: introducing the material (4) into a treatment chamber (2), having a pressure of between 10 mbar and 1 bar therein, which is supplied with a gas stream containing at least 90 volume percent of oxygen; and generating a plasma by passing an electric discharge between the surface of the material and a dielectric-covered electrode (5a, 5b, 5c, 5d, 5e, 5f, 5g) in order to break down the organic substance under the action of the free radicals O thus produced. The invention also relates to an installation (1) that is used to carry out said method.

Claims

1. A process for cleaning the surface of a material coated with an organic substance, the process comprising:

introducing said material into a treatment chamber, having a pressure of between 10 mbar and 1 bar therein, which is supplied with a gas stream containing at least 90% oxygen by volume; and

generating a plasma by passing an electric discharge between the surface of said material and a dielectric-covered electrode, breaking down said organic substance through the action of the free radicals O^. thus produced,

wherein said material is a carbon steel.

2. The process as claimed in claim 1, wherein the oxygen and/or ozone molecules that are formed by recombination of the free radicals O^. produced in said plasma are re-dissociated.

3. The process as claimed in claim 1, wherein said re-dissociation is carried out using UV radiation of a suitable wavelength.

4. The process as claimed in claim 1, wherein the voltage applied to initiate the discharge is sinusoidal and has a frequency of between 10 and 100 kHz.

5. The process as claimed in claim 1, wherein the energy dissipation in the discharge is less than 40 W/cm² and the voltage applied in order to initiate the discharge is less than 4.4 W.

6. The process as claimed in claim 1, wherein the material is in the form of a running strip and said introducing and generating operations are carried out continuously using installations placed in succession along the path of the running strip.

7. The process as claimed in claim 6, wherein one of the faces of said strip is treated followed in succession by the other.

8. The process as claimed in claim 1, wherein the process degreases the surface of said metallic materials, and further comprises depositing a coating after said degreasing.

9. The process as claimed in claim 1, further comprising removing oil from the surface of metallic materials using the generated plasma.

10. The process as claimed in claim 3, wherein suitable wavelength is approximately 253 nm.