Efficient Plant Nov./Dec 2019 - 32

feature | solution focus

Protect
Facilities from

A recycling plant used EonCoat on
two industrial dust collectors and
associated ductwork for long-term
corrosion protection.

Corrosion
Chemically bonded
phosphate ceramic (CBPC)
coatings provide durable
protection from atmospheric
and chemical corrosion.

CORROSION IS THE biggest single cause of plant and equipment
breakdown, including machinery, vessels, structures, supports, and
pipelines. While atmospheric corrosion, in the form of air and water,
is the main culprit, environmental factors such as high temperatures,
pressures, and harsh substances, chemicals, and gasses can also accelerate
the corrosion of carbon steel and other metals.
Beyond marine environments exposed to salt spray or compounds
that cause corrosion, common gaseous industrial air pollutants, such as
sulfur dioxide, ozone, and nitrogen dioxide, can induce corrosion. So
can exposure to industrial chemicals such as chlorides, acetic acid, and
formaldehyde.
"There is a huge need for an anti-corrosion coating that can be applied
in areas where conventional coatings tend to fail," said Joey Taylor,
president, IPI Inc., an Elkview, WV-based paint/coating contractor for
commercial and industrial construction. "On certain projects, chlorides
need to be removed in order to meet peak performance. But in most
cases, this can be cost prohibitive."
Fortunately, for industrial facilities with assets prone to environmental
corrosion, a category of tough chemically bonded phosphate ceramic
(CBPC) coatings is helping to stop corrosion, ease application, and
reduce production downtime.

LONG-TERM PROTECTION
When aluminum is recycled, it is melted to separate the pure metal from
the impurities. The process creates a waste product called salt cake,
which contains compounds that can promote corrosion. As a result,

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typical barrier-type anti-corrosion coatings, such as polymer paints,
can fail prematurely. When the paint is scratched, chipped, or breached,
corrosion promoters can enter the gap between the substrate and coating.
The coating then acts as a greenhouse, trapping the corrosion promoters
and allowing corrosion to spread under the coating.
When an aluminum recycling plant in West Virginia required corrosion protection for its operation, it sought a long-term term solution
that would not require frequent recoating, according to Taylor, who was
involved with the project.
"The recycling plant was not having much luck with conventional
anti-corrosion coatings, which only lasted about three or four years," he
said. "Anyone trying to protect their assets from corrosion wants their
coating to last much longer than that."
To provide long-term corrosion protection in a tough environment,
the aluminum recycling plant and Taylor turned to EonCoat, Raleigh,
NC, for a spray-applied inorganic coating of the same name. In contrast
to traditional polymer coatings that sit on top of a substrate, the CBPC
coating bonds through a chemical reaction with the substrate. The coating can be applied over flash-rusted, damp steel. An alloy layer is formed.
This makes it impossible for corrosion promoters such as oxygen and
humidity to get behind the coating the way they do with ordinary paints.
Although traditional polymer coatings mechanically bond to substrates
that have been extensively prepared, if gouged, moisture and oxygen will
migrate under the coating's film from all sides of the gouge.
Visible in scanning-electron-microscope photography, EonCoat does
not leave a gap between the steel and the coating because the bond is

NOV/DEC 2019

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Efficient Plant Nov./Dec 2019

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