PPG Launches Environmentally-Responsible Zircobond Pretreatment      

PPG Industries announced on February 6th, 2009 the launch of its new, environmentally-responsible Zircobond (TM ) pretreatment technology.
   Metal pretreatment is a well-established method of providing cleanliness and corrosion protection to the surface of an automotive car body. The traditional zinc-phosphate pretreatment processes generate a sludge byproduct that contains heavy metals such as nickel, zinc and manganese.  
    As a result, PPG is driving innovation toward alternative pretreatment technologies with a new, state-of-art zirconium-based pretreatment technology called Zircobond. Zircobond pretreatment is an alternative to conventional zinc-phosphate pretreatment processes that addresses those environmental concerns and delivers cost savings without sacrificing on performance. Utilizing zirconium-based chemistry and a proprietary blend of additives, Zircobond pretreatment is formulated without regulated heavy metals, and a process using Zircobond pretreatment generates at least 80 percent less sludge byproduct than a standard process.