Eliminating Hexavalent Cr Emissions in Thermal Spray Alloys

Wednesday, May 13, 2015: 4:30 PM
Room 102A (Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center)
Dr. Justin Cheney , SCOPERTA, INC., San Diego, CA
Mr. Daren Gansert , HAI, Placentia, CA
Chromium is a industry staple due to unparalleled corrosion resistance and durability. Unfortunately, many alloy produce Hexavalent Chromium (Cr+6) which is a known carcinogen.  As part of a memorandum provided by the Department of the Army to reduce toxic and hazardous chemicals under executive order (EO) 13423, Hard Chrome Alternative Technologies (HCAT) was developed to reduce the amount of Cr6+ produced in the US.

                A study conducted by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) showed that 30-60 percent of chromium emissions produced in thermal spray processing can contain Cr6+.  In addition, several independent studies found that Cr6+ emissions produced from Twin Wire Arc Spray (TWAS) can be up to 3,000 times greater than the legal limits established by the CARB.

This study details our efforts to develop the next generation of high performance thermal spray alloys which are Chromium free resulting in zero Cr6+ emissions. In order to meet our objectives high throughput computational metallurgy was employed.   The initial results have shown that next generation alloys can be developed to meet or exceed the performance of incumbent Cr-bearing alloys currently in service and that the future of Cr-free alloys is on the horizon.

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