The Environmental and Cost Benefits of E-coating
E-coating (Electrocoating) is a highly advanced coating technology where parts to be coated are immersed in a water-based bath containing electrocoat paint. An electrical current is then used to draw the paint uniformly onto the surface of the part.

However, when a part is removed from the tank, it carries out a layer of excess paint (often called "drag-out" or "cream-coat"), which must be thoroughly rinsed off. If this excess paint water is discarded, it not only wastes valuable electrocoat paint but is also environmentally unsound.

This is where the ingenious ultrafiltration membrane comes into play!

The ultrafiltration membrane works like a high-tech "sieve" in this system:

The excess paint solution rinsed from the part is pumped into the ultrafiltration membrane equipment.

The ultrafiltration membrane is able to "filter out" the water and very small impurities (this clean water is known as "permeate").

The useful, larger electrocoat paint particles are "blocked" by the ultrafiltration membrane because of their size.

The recovered electrocoat paint is returned to the main paint tank for continued use—this is known as "recycling" or "reclaim."

The clean water (permeate) that was filtered out is used to rinse the next parts, creating a closed-loop system.

Through this method, E-coating facilities not only significantly reduce the waste of electrocoat paint and lower coating costs, but they also ensure the entire production process is cleaner and more environmentally responsible. Therefore, the ultrafiltration membrane is an essential "reclamation guardian" in a modern E-coating system.