Antibacterial stainless steel refers to adding a certain amount of antibacterial metal elements, such as copper (Cu), silver (Ag), zinc (Zn), etc., to ordinary stainless steel, so that it has both corrosion resistance and good antibacterial effect, which can be called "antibacterial stainless steel". During the casting, forging, rolling and heat treatment process, the antibacterial metal elements are uniformly dispersed in the ordinary stainless steel matrix with a certain size and shape, and the volume percentage of the precipitated phase is guaranteed, which gives it excellent antibacterial properties without reducing the mechanical properties and corrosion resistance of ordinary stainless steel.
As an inorganic antibacterial material, antibacterial stainless steel has excellent antibacterial performance, broad-spectrum sterilization, safety, non-toxicity, excellent processing performance and other characteristics. It can be used to manufacture medical equipment, cooking utensils and tableware, food processing equipment, home appliances, building materials, public places, etc., and has a wide range of applications. Since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the antibacterial stainless steel market has been further developed thanks to the increased antibacterial awareness of people.
Antibacterial stainless steel can be subdivided into surface coated type antibacterial stainless steel, alloy antibacterial stainless steel, surface modified antibacterial stainless steel, composite antibacterial stainless steel and other types. Alloy antibacterial stainless steel is the mainstream of market development, among which copper-containing antibacterial stainless steel and silver-containing antibacterial stainless steel are the most widely used. Alloy antibacterial stainless steel is made by adding antibacterial metal elements such as copper, silver, and zinc during the smelting process of ordinary stainless steel, and heat treating it with a special process.
According to the "2024-2029 Antibacterial Stainless Steel Industry Market In-depth Research and Investment Prospect Forecast Analysis Report" released by the Xinshijie Industry Research Center, Japan's antibacterial stainless steel research and industrialization started early, and China is a latecomer. At the beginning of the 21st century, China began to develop antibacterial stainless steel. Research institutes such as the Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Beijing University of Science and Technology, and Sichuan University have carried out multi-faceted research on it. Among them, the Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, took the lead in developing antibacterial stainless steel with various structural types such as austenite, martensite, ferrite, and duplex in China.
At present, China's antibacterial stainless steel manufacturers include Shanghai Baosteel Group, Fujian Qingtuo Special Steel, Hongxing, Hongwang Group, Guangqing Technology, etc. In recent years, the technical level of China's antibacterial stainless steel has been continuously improved, and indicators such as corrosion resistance, antibacterial properties, tensile strength, elongation, and surface roughness have been improved accordingly. For example, the J430KJ antibacterial ferritic stainless steel independently developed by Hongxing has a broad-spectrum antibacterial property, and the antibacterial rate against Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Candida albicans is more than 99.9%.
China's antibacterial stainless steel related standards are also becoming more and more perfect, providing a strong guarantee for the standardization and standardization of the industry. The standards related to antibacterial stainless steel include YB/T 4171-2020 "Copper-containing antibacterial stainless steel", T/ZZB 3487-2023 "Copper-containing antibacterial stainless steel for food contact", GB/T 42675-2023 "Antibacterial stainless steel welded steel pipes and fittings", GB/T 24170.1-2023 "Surface antibacterial stainless steel Part 1: Electrochemical method", etc.
Industry analysts from Xinshijie said that the evaluation methods for the antibacterial performance of antibacterial stainless steel include film method, oscillation method, plate culture method, plate streaking method, Quin method, immersion method, etc., among which the film method is widely used. Antibacterial stainless steel has excellent antibacterial properties and has a wide range of applications in fields with high environmental requirements such as food processing and pharmaceutical processing. With the continuous improvement of relevant standards and the continuous in-depth research, the antibacterial stainless steel industry will develop towards higher quality and higher levels.
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