Descaling is a core procedure in electrical steel production. It must not only efficiently remove oxide scale from the electrical steel surface and ensure that subsequent processes meet standards, but also overcome the dual challenges of stringent environmental‑protection requirements and high‑end product upgrading.

For a long time, conventional normalizing annealing & pickling lines (CP) have relied on strong‑acid corrosion for descaling. Although they can achieve basic results, they remain trapped in the dilemma of “high pollution, high energy consumption and high cost”: waste acid liquor, acid mist, silicon‑bearing sludge and other hazardous wastes are difficult to treat; equipment corrosion is severe; and problems such as over‑pickling and hydrogen embrittlement of electrical steel are prone to occur, dragging down the yield of high‑grade products.

With the implementation of the Dual‑Carbon policy and the rising demand for high‑end electrical steel, Zhejiang Jinlei’s Normalizing Annealing & MEC Eco‑Descaling Production Line (AML), supported by the MEC eco‑descaling technology independently developed by Zhejiang Mopper Environmental Protection Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Mopper Environmental Protection”), breaks the constraints of traditional acid pickling technology and becomes the optimal solution for the green transformation of the electrical steel industry.

Core Breakthrough: MEC Technology Redefines the Logic of Electrical Steel Descaling

Unlike the chemical‑corrosion principle of traditional acid pickling, the Normalizing Annealing & MEC Eco‑Descaling Production Line (AML) adopts the acid‑free MEC eco‑descaling technology for hot‑rolled steel (abbreviated as “MEC technology”) independently developed by Mopper Environmental Protection. Through environmentally friendly flexible brush‑grinding media and an intelligent control system, it precisely removes oxide scale from the electrical steel surface by brush grinding, achieving from the source a green production closed loop of “acid‑free operation, full recycling and zero hazardous‑waste discharge.”

This core technology, refined over many years, has obtained a cumulative total of 411 authorized patents at home and abroad, covering Japan, South Korea, the United States and other countries. It has not only passed long‑term verification by mainstream domestic steel enterprises, but also successfully gone global, supporting the green upgrading of Türkiye’s steel industry and becoming one of the benchmark technologies for Chinese intelligent manufacturing going global.

At present, MEC eco‑descaling technology has been applied in multiple mainstream domestic steel enterprises, with 15 eco‑descaling production lines operating smoothly, covering leading enterprises such as Tsingshan Group and NISCO. Deep strategic cooperation has also been established with Zhejiang Eco‑Environmental Group, Wuxi Guolian Materials Investment Co., Ltd. and other partners.

Three Core Advantages Unlock New Value in the Intelligent Manufacturing of Electrical Steel

(I) Green and Low‑Carbon: Solving Environmental Pain Points at the Source

It completely eliminates the pollution caused by waste acid liquor, acid sludge and acid mist generated by traditional acid pickling processes. The treatment process is smokeless and odorless, truly achieving zero discharge of the “three wastes.” According to the energy‑consumption research on MEC technology by the China Metallurgical Industry Planning and Research Institute, the energy consumption per ton of steel of the AML production line is about 50% lower than that of traditional acid pickling. At the same time, the recycling rate of cleaning water reaches 100%, and the filtered pure iron oxide (oxide scale) can be recovered and reused as a high‑quality raw material, building a green value chain of “production‑recycling‑reuse.”

(II) Quality Improvement and Efficiency Enhancement: Balancing High‑End Quality and Capacity Growth

The production line achieves a maximum descaling speed of 30 m/min. It can process electrical steel coils with strip width of 800–1550 mm and thickness of 2–6 mm, with an oxide scale removal rate as high as 99% and uniformly controllable surface roughness. It effectively avoids edge corrosion, “black edge” and other problems common in traditional acid pickling, eliminates the risks of over‑corrosion and hydrogen embrittlement, and significantly improves the yield of electrical steel products.

More importantly, the physical descaling method does not change the chemical composition or microstructure of the electrical steel matrix. It can precisely protect the SiO₂ underlayer on the surface of grain‑oriented electrical steel, ensuring stable core magnetic properties such as magnetic permeability and core loss, and helping high‑end electrical steel meet the stringent requirements of emerging fields such as unmanned aerial vehicles and humanoid robots for high‑efficiency, high‑power‑density motors.

(III) Cost Reduction and Empowerment: Greater Full‑Life‑Cycle Cost Advantages

Compared with conventional normalizing annealing & pickling lines (CP), the Normalizing Annealing & MEC Eco‑Descaling Production Line (AML) offers cost advantages throughout the full‑life‑cycle: no investment in acid heating is required; energy consumption per ton of steel is reduced by about 50%; and the processing cost per ton of coil is reduced by 10%. Free from acid‑induced corrosion, the equipment enjoys a greatly extended service life and significantly reduced maintenance costs.

At the same time, the equipment cost of the Normalizing Annealing & MEC Eco‑Descaling Production Line (AML) is lower than the total investment in an acid pickling + waste acid regeneration system. It can also retrofit the pickling section of existing production lines without a complete rebuild, helping enterprises complete technological upgrades at lower cost and quickly improve profitability.

Leading High‑Quality Development of the Electrical Steel Industry through Technological Innovation

At present, the electrical steel industry is accelerating its transformation toward green, high‑end and intelligent development, and the phasing out of traditional acid pickling processes has become an inevitable trend. Supported by Mopper Environmental Protection’s core patented technology, the Normalizing Annealing & MEC Eco‑Descaling Production Line (AML) combines four major advantages—environmental protection, quality, cost and efficiency. It not only resolves the industry’s long‑standing environmental pain points but also provides reliable support for high‑end electrical steel production, in line with the global steel industry’s trend of pollution abatement and carbon reduction.

In the future, the Normalizing Annealing & MEC Eco‑Descaling Production Line (AML) will continue to deepen technological iteration, promote green upgrading among more electrical steel enterprises, help China’s electrical steel industry seize opportunities in the global high‑end market, and write a new chapter of industrial development in which intelligent manufacturing and environmental protection coexist!