The environmental protection of new technologies for metal surface treatment will bring about various cost changes, as follows:

Initial equipment and technology investment costs

Some technical equipment has high costs: some new environmentally friendly surface treatment technologies, such as plasma treatment technology, atomic layer deposition technology, etc., require the purchase of advanced professional equipment, which is often expensive and has high initial investment costs. For example, the price of plasma processing equipment may range from tens of thousands to millions of yuan, which puts significant financial pressure on some small businesses.

The cost of technology research and introduction: The independent development of environmentally friendly surface treatment technology by enterprises requires a significant investment in R&D personnel salaries, experimental equipment procurement, experimental material consumption, and patent applications. If it is to introduce advanced environmental protection technologies from external sources, high technology transfer fees and related training costs also need to be paid.

Mid term operating costs

There are differences in energy costs: some new environmental protection technologies have lower energy consumption, such as micro arc oxidation technology using new electrolytes, which achieves lower energy consumption per unit thickness through process optimization. But there are also some technologies that may consume high energy, such as some vacuum coating technologies, which require maintaining a high vacuum environment and specific temperature, electromagnetic field, and other conditions during the coating process, resulting in high equipment operating power and energy consumption.

The cost of materials has both decreased and increased: Environmentally friendly processing materials may have higher prices, such as high-performance environmentally friendly coatings, new graphene modified coating materials, etc. Their raw material costs and production processes are complex, resulting in higher prices. However, there are also some new technologies that can reduce material costs, such as chemical plating technology, which has less waste liquid discharge and less environmental pollution. Compared to traditional electroplating, it may have lower material consumption and processing costs.

Post maintenance and management costs

Equipment maintenance cost: New environmentally friendly treatment equipment is usually more precise and requires high professional technical requirements for maintenance personnel, requiring regular maintenance and repair, resulting in higher maintenance costs. Moreover, when the equipment malfunctions, it is difficult to repair and may require contacting the equipment supplier or professional maintenance team, which will also increase maintenance costs and downtime costs.

Environmental management costs: Environmental protection requires enterprises to strengthen environmental management, requiring investment in the purchase and operation of pollution monitoring equipment, training of environmental personnel, and establishment and maintenance of environmental management systems. For example, regular testing of wastewater and exhaust gas to ensure compliance with emission standards increases the management costs of enterprises.

Long term comprehensive cost

Reducing environmental costs: Traditional metal surface treatment technologies face high environmental remediation costs due to pollution issues, such as the construction and operation of wastewater treatment facilities, and fines for pollutant emissions. And new environmental protection technologies that meet environmental requirements can reduce or avoid these costs, which in the long run can save businesses a lot of money.

Enhancing product value: Adopting environmentally friendly surface treatment technology can improve product quality and performance, such as enhancing corrosion resistance, wear resistance, etc., extending product service life, thereby increasing product added value and bringing more economic benefits to enterprises. At the same time, environmentally friendly products are more in line with market demand and consumers' environmental awareness, which helps companies expand their market share and indirectly reduce the overall cost per unit of product.

Saving resource costs: New environmental protection technologies usually focus more on the recycling and conservation of resources, such as some processes that can achieve the regeneration and utilization of plating solutions, reduce the consumption of raw materials, and lower resource procurement costs. Moreover, due to the improvement of product quality, the waste of raw materials and energy caused by product damage or failure has been reduced, further saving resource costs.