INTEGRA Technologies, a market leader in controlled bolting, field machining, leak detection and prevention, engineered products, and ASME training, has been acquired by Flexitallic. According to the company, by acquiring INTEGRA, Flexitallic’s business will transform from a “Sealing Solutions” provider to a “Total Joint Integrity” provider. INTEGRA was formed over 30 years ago, and operates in Canada and the USA. The two businesses have a similar culture that is based on safety, quality, and exceeding client expectations.
Biofouling and corrosion are two of the major challenges that the maritime industry has faced throughout history. Biological fouling is the accumulation of microorganisms, plants, algae, or small animals on surfaces such as ship hulls and submarine hulls where they are not wanted. Water-immersed metal surfaces are prone to corrosion due to biofouling. Self-polishing tributyltin antifouling coatings (TBT-SPC) were the most widely used and most successful antifouling coatings. Due to its high toxicity, TBT-SPC has caused serious ecological and environmental damage to the ocean, and has been banned by the International Maritime Organization since 2008. Typically, marine antifouling is achieved through the release of biocides or foul-release coatings. Antifouling coatings that integrate several antifouling strategies can be beneficial because a single antifouling strategy is limited in its effectiveness. A related idea is to create green marine antifouling coatings from natural ingredients by combining the synergistic effects of both antifoulant release and fouling release. Jipeng Chen et al prepared a new composite coating by compounding natural polymerised tung oil (PTO) and urushiol-based benzoxazine copper polymers (UBCP). In the development of this coating eco-friendly and sustainable natural products were used as main raw materials. This coating has low surface energy. The antifouling performance of the composite coatings was tested with three different bacteria (E. coli, S. aureus and V. alginolyticus) and two microalgae (N. closterium and P. tricornutum), all of which were easily released from the composite coatings.
More information regarding producing eco-friendly and economical antifouling coating can be obtained from following article.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.porgcoat.2023.107411
Jindal Stainless has recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Confederation of India Industry (CII) about the CII’s National Mission on Corrosion Management, in an effort to combat corrosion and raise awareness of its impacts. The main objectives of this MoU are training, capacity development, and skill development, with assistance from governmental organisations and educational institutions; consulting and advisory, which will include technology gap assessment; projects and research, which will include survey and infrastructure analysis; and, finally, stakeholder engagement to raise awareness of the issue.
Source: https://www.jindalstainless.com/
Picture (right): Director, Jindal Stainless, Mr Vijay Sharma and Executive Director, Confederation of Indian Industry & Head, CII – Centre of Excellence for Competitiveness, Mr Pikender Pal Singh sign an MoU on National Mission on Corrosion Management in the presence of other dignitaries.
A new study focused on the investigation of the fire protection of steel using inorganic intumescent alkali silicate and geopolymer (alkali aluminosilicate) coatings at temperatures relevant for hydrocarbon fires, as described in the UL1709 standard.
Pure alkali silicate coatings based on Na, K, or a mixture of these with Li, exhibited high initial expansion followed by melting. In comparison, Li-silicate coatings expanded less but demonstrated significantly higher thermal stability. Increasing the SiO2/Na2O molar ratio prolonged the fire protection time, explained by the lower melt formation proposed by global equilibrium calculations. The presence of melting in the high expanding alkali silicate systems limits their use in hydrocarbon fire conditions. In comparison to pure alkali silicates, geopolymer coatings with kaolin, metakaolin, and fly ash, and additional CaCO3 displayed a higher thermal stability confirmed by global equilibrium calculations.
An examination of the influence of the CaCO3 and kaolin content, suggested that an optimum exists for the kaolin coatings in terms of expansion, fire protection, and thermal stability. The best performing kaolin coating (37.6 min) had a lower fire protection compared to a state-of-the-art commercial organic hydrocarbon coating (44.2 min), caused by their differences in internal structure. The commercial coating expanded to a more compact microporous solid, while the kaolin coating qualitatively displayed a higher proportion of macropores. This in turn suggested that future work needed to be carried out to further improve the internal structure of the kaolin-based coatings to ensure good fire protection.
The study was published in Journal of Coatings Technology and Research, Volume 20, Issue 1, January 2023.
Zinc-rich epoxy coatings are widely used to protect steel against corrosion, due to their excellent corrosion resistance. However, these coatings usually use a large amount of Zn powder and organic solvents, which not only wastes resources, but also produce a high level of volatile organic compounds (VOC).
In a new study, three different flake metal powders (Zn, ZnAl alloy and ZnAlMg alloy) were used to replace the spherical Zn powder, to develop environmentally friendly coatings with low pigment content. The coatings were evaluated by salt spray test and electrochemical tests, and the results showed that the use of flake metal powders instead of spherical zinc pigments can enhance the electrical connection between metal particles, prolong the path of corrosive medium infiltration into the coatings, enhance the physical shielding effect of the coatings, and reduce the pigment content by one third. Among them, the ZnAl coatings displayed the best anti-corrosion performance, resisting salt fog corrosion for 28 days.
This study was published in Progress in Organic Coatings, Volume 175, February 2023.
Piping is everywhere in process industries such as chemical and petroleum production, and the flange faces on the end of almost every pipe segment form a critical connection for pressure containment. Any deterioration of these surfaces could diminish the integrity of that connection during storage and installation, making preservation imperative for safety and performance concerns. Removable coatings are an ideal way to ensure faster installation and less downtime by preventing corrosion on the flange face.
Cortec® have developed two removable coatings for flange face protection. VpCI®-391, a water-based temporary coating with low VOC (48 g/l]), it provides protection in harsh, outdoor, unsheltered applications, has excellent UV resistance, and can be easily removed with alkaline cleaners. For the most extreme conditions, VpCI®-368 offers even heavier duty protection. This fast-drying solvent-based coating leaves a slightly brown waxy finish, which again can be removed prior to flange installation using an alkaline cleaner.
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