Transform your cleaning process: Key advantages with GEA
- Consistently clean washing lye: Maintains effective cleaning and degreasing
- Extended cleaning liquid life: Fewer replacements, lower consumption
- Recovered drawing oil: Valuable oil is recycled, not wasted
- Reduced tool wear: Cleaner processes protect expensive equipment
- Improved component quality: Enhanced surface finish and dimensional accuracy
- Lower disposal costs: Oil-free wash water can be disposed of more cost-effectively
- Sustainable operations: Less special waste, reduced environmental impact
The role of washing lye in modern metalworking
In metal forming and automotive supplier industries, washing lye plays a critical role in cleaning and degreasing components after machining. For example in the automotive industry deep drawing presses, operating with forces up to 2,000 tons and generating localized temperatures of up to 2,000 °C, require drawing oil to be sprayed onto high-deformation zones. This protects expensive tools and ensures dimensional accuracy of car body parts.
Before further processing, components must be thoroughly degreased in immersion baths. However, tramp oil and metal particles can quickly contaminate the washing lye, leading to recontamination of components, increased tool wear and compromised surface quality. Continuous removal of these impurities is essential for maintaining cleaning efficiency and product quality.
GEA’s solution: Simultaneous separation and oil recovery
GEA separators are seamlessly integrated into your production process, removing oil and solid particles from washing lye in a single step. This ensures consistently high cleaning efficiency, significantly reduces washing lye consumption and extends the life of your cleaning liquids.
Our technology also recovers concentrated drawing oil, which can be enriched with additives and reused in the drawing process - reducing waste and supporting sustainability.
Partner with GEA for reliable and sustainable cleaning
With proven separator technology and global expertise, GEA helps manufacturers optimize cleaning systems, reduce costs, and improve product quality.
Contact GEA today to discover how our washing lye treatment solutions can support your production and sustainability goals.
Products & Technologies
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Centrifugal Separator
GEA separators are designed for liquid-based applications. Using centrifugal force, they are used for separating suspensions consisting of two or more phases of different densities, i.e. they can be used for liquid-liquid separation, for liquid-liquid-solid separation or for liquid-solid separation. They are equally as effective at separating liq...
Jet pumps
Jet pumps, also referred to as ejectors, are devices for the conveyance, compression or mixing of gases, vapors, liquids or solids and for the production of vacuum in which a gaseous or liquid medium serves as the motive force.
Liquid Mixers
Mixing is a vital process in the production of a diverse range of products in a wide range of industries. Based on our extensive experience and technological know-how, GEA offers a variety of batch, continuous and in-house custom designed mixing solutions for unique applications that meet specific customer needs.
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GEA Insights
The breakthrough that changed spray drying
In 1976, NIRO engineers responded to a competitive challenge by rethinking what spray drying could do. Their idea became the multi-stage dryer MSD. Fifty years later, the same fundamental principle helps turn liquids into the powders used in essential nutrition products and important medicines around the world. Refined through decades of engineering expertise, customer insight and continuous development, MSD is a story of innovation with lasting impact.
Beyond the machine: unlocking better plant performance
An efficient machine does not automatically make an efficient factory. Real improvement often starts by looking beyond individual equipment and understanding how processes, energy systems and operating decisions affect one another. It’s a holistic approach designed to uncover opportunities that might otherwise be missed.
How a valve reshapes the way food and drinks are made
In food and beverage plants, valves are commonly operated using compressed air. GEA Hydract® Actuation Technology moves valves with water instead, in a closed, digitally controlled circuit. The result is a valve that can be held exactly in place and steered in fine-tuned steps. This results in lower energy use and greater control.
