Long Term Preservation of Metallic Components

If you are here, you must be wondering the answer to your question;

  1. What is the shelf life of Metallic Components packed in VCI materials? or
  2. How long does VCI packaging guarantee Rust Free Packaging? or
  3. Can we use VCI Packaging materials for Long Term Preservation of components?

Let’s have a look at this picture before we proceed to answer your question;

VCI Shelf Life

Shelf Life of Metal Components Packed in VCI Packaging Materials depends upon the following Factors;

    1. Packaging Design: This means what are the materials used to pack the metallic components; Wood, Corrugated, VCI Films, VCI Paper, Desiccants, Rust preventive Oil, etc. The packaging design has to be carefully summarised for Domestic, Export, or In-house material storage.
    2. Packaging Realisation: Once the packaging process has been set up, the next most important factor is the application of packaging on the ground. This means taking care of basic packaging guidelines that include wearing gloves while packaging, keeping metalworking fluids clean, keeping temperature & humidity in the packaging areas, and various other factors. For a complete list of Packaging Recommendations, please click here.
    3. Quality of material: Rusting of components causes loss of billions of dollars annually. Taking necessary precautions while packaging will only help if you have the right packaging products with you. It is highly important to have complete technical information on the packaging products which are going to use whether its moisture level in corrugated box / wooden box, fumigation/heat treatment on boxes, Viscocity of Rust preventive Oil, Salt Spray life of RP Oil, Water Vapor Transmission Ratio (WVTR / MVTR) of VCI Bags, the Moisture absorption capacity of Desiccants and various other quality parameters.
    4. VCI Characteristics: One of the most important parameters in the chemical properties of the VCI Material used for packaging. VCI Materials like VCI Film, VCI Paper, VCI Emitters work by emitting VCI Molecules in the packaged box. These molecules get deposited on the metal surface and protect the components from Moisture, Corrosive Gases, and Oxygen. VCI Paper works the fastest as Paper is porous and provides immediate protection while VCI Films takes time to sublimate, the protection period extends to as long as five years.
    5. Atmospheric Agents: While designing a packaging solution for exports, or long-term preservation, it is most important to keep in mind the work of atmospheric agents like Moisture & Relative Humidity. These two attributes have a major function on which the shelf life of the components depends. Change in Moisture & RH by 10 Degrees will make way for condensation and thus water formation inside the packaging will start to happen. Please consult with BENZ Packaging Technical Advisor for more information.

 

 

Tags: VCI Paper, VCI Film, Desiccants, Packaging Design, VCI Packaging Materials, Shelf Life, Rust Preventive Oil, Long Term Preservation, Moisture

 

Desiccants humidity Long Term Preservation Moisture Packaging Design Packaging Guidelines Rust Preventive Oil Shelf Life Temperature vci emitters VCI Film VCI Materials VCI Molecules VCI Packaging Materials VCI Paper