Study: Electropolish is the Best Way to Prevent Microbial Accrual  | Limat | 15.12.09


A new study looking at 11 metal polishing techniques concluded that electropolish is the best way of preventing bacterial accumulation.

Industrial equipment surfaces must be polished as  preventive measure against harmful bacterial accumulations. The food industry in particular is well aware of the problems such infections may cause. Food processing plants may, in the absence of proper preventive measures, suffer from work-surface infection, decay and destruction, and in turn – heavy financial costs.   

Stainless steels are the food industry – and many other industries – metals of choice. Nevertheless, these metals must undergo both polishing and various preventive treatments in order to prevent rapid microbial accrual.

A comparative analysis of surface-adhering bacteria and live bacterial organisms indicated that surface-adhering organisms are becoming more resistant to chemical and physical treatments.

While industrial facilities must follow clear sanitation guidelines, aimed at eradicating such bacterial hubs, their numbers do increase after surfaces are re-exposed to working conditions. 

A comparative analysis of 11 different metal polishing techniques, aimed at determining which method will increase metal surface resistant to bacteria on a microscopic level, unequivocally found that electrochemical metal polishing produced the highest surface resistance to microbial accrual in stainless steel; therefore surfaces subjected to electropolish in the food industry have shown scientifically higher resistance to the dangers of infection and decay.

When choosing surfaces for industrial facilities, one must consider that if these surfaces are not subjected to necessary treatments prior to installation, the accumulation of harmful organisms may increase exponentially. Metal surfaces must be polished ahead of any work in order to keep them clean and maintain long-term durability in face of the perils posed by the work environment.