C23G CLEANING OR DE-GREASING OF METALLIC MATERIAL BY CHEMICAL METHODS OTHER THAN ELECTROLYSIS
Description
C23G covers chemical cleaning and degreasing processes for metallic materials using non-electrochemical methods, including acid pickling, alkaline cleaning, solvent degreasing, and passivation treatments. These processes remove contaminants such as oxides, oils, greases, and other surface impurities prior to further metallurgical operations or coating application. The classification excludes electrochemical cleaning methods (covered under C23F) and mechanical cleaning techniques, focusing specifically on chemical attack and dissolution mechanisms.
Filing statistics
CPC subclass C23G recorded 17,129 patent applications worldwide between 2013 and 2023. Annual filings grew from 614 in 2013 to 1,507 in 2023 (+145%), peaking at 2,170 applications in 2020. The most active applicants in class C23 are APPLIED MATERIALS (10,596 applications), TOKYO ELECTRON (5,229 applications) and LAM RESEARCH CORPORATION (3,622 applications).
Source: EPO PATSTAT, worldwide filings
3 direct subcodes
Child Classifications
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- C23G 1/00 Cleaning or pickling metallic material with solutions or molten salts (with organic solvents C23G5/02)
- C23G 3/00 Apparatus for cleaning or pickling metallic material (with organic solvents C23G5/04)
- C23G 5/00 Cleaning or de-greasing metallic material by other methods; Apparatus for cleaning or de-greasing metallic material with organic solvents
Top Applicants
Top 10 applicants by patent filingsfor class C23, 2013–2023, worldwide · Source: EPO PATSTAT
- APPLIED MATERIALS US 10,596
- TOKYO ELECTRON JP 5,229
- LAM RESEARCH CORPORATION US 3,622
- NIPPON STEEL CORPORATION JP 3,171
- JFE STEEL JP 3,128
- ASM IP HOLDING NL 2,722
- ARCELORMITTAL LU 2,481
- TOKYO ELECTRON 2,359
- APPLIED MATERIALS 2,284
- CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES 2,110