Anti-corrosion coatings are an indispensable tool in fighting the battle against rust. Used on everything from automobiles to bridges and tunnels, anti-corrosion coatings protect structures in some of the harshest environments.Get more news about Anti Corrosion Coatings ,you can vist our website!
Today there are a number of growth areas for anti-corrosive coatings. Key markets include oil and gas, power, industrial and infrastructure, according to Anders Braekke, category group manager, topcoats at Jotun Coatings. "The oil and gas industry still show good growth and we have good insight in the industry. The Norwegian oil industry is located on Jotun's doorstep and this is an industry that we understand quite well," he said. "We also see the alternative power industry as very interesting. Windmill production is one area that has potential. This is an industry where we may see innovative solutions for the future. New alternative power will hopefully try to be environmentally friendly throughout the whole value chain and we can expect that waterborne technology will be preferred in this type of business." The reason is that customers will not sacrifice any anti-corrosion properties since maintenance here can be difficult and expensive, for example windmills located at sea.
Another important area for anti-corrosion coatings is transportation infrastructure. "We are addressing the requirements of repairing/rebuilding the transportation infrastructure including highways and bridges," said John Steele, president, Substrate, Inc. "We also see significant opportunities within the Armed Forces. Above ground storage tanks and off-shore oil platforms are also high on our priority list." Developing anti-corrosion coatings for a wide variety of applications is no easy task. Coatings must meet specific performance requirements, as well as meet increasingly strict environmental regulations.
"The constantly increasing requirements on the performance of anti-corrosion coatings combined with cost and environmental awareness make all-important areas such as OEM, car refinish, heavy duty, industrial and specialty coatings the key areas of the corrosion protection coating makers," said Lars Kirmaier, business development manager, anticorrosives, Heubach GmbH.
One important trend is the growth of the water-based paint area and the decreased use of solventborne coatings. "It looks like a rise of water-based industrial protective coatings will occur in the future, because of the increased regulations to produce low VOC," said Kirmaier. "These coatings are more convenient to use due to their low odor and are safer for the environment."
"VOCs are a necessary component of all organic surface coatings," Kirmaier continued. "Of the available low VOC content paint technologies to date, only high solids or waterborne formulations are currently practical propositions for protective coatings. Alternatives include radiation curing coatings and powder coatings. Also, thin ceramic or sol-free coatings have become a popular material in recent times in the protective coatings world."
Other trends in the market, according to Kirmaier, are surface tolerant protective coatings systems or coatings providing universal adhesion. They use less coatings up to single coat application-and are combined with high film thickness and high gloss.
Despite all the innovations, a coating can only perform at its best when it is applied correctly. Proper substrate preparation is vital.
"Substrate preparation is the most important step of the coating process," said Mehrooz Zamanzadeh a NACE (National Association of Corrosion Engineers) certified materials protection specialist at Matco Associations. "Adequate substrate surface preparation will result in long life and high performance with minimum maintenance."
One way to improve anti-corrosive properties of a protective coating is to achieve the best adhesion on the substrate. "Accordingly, the pre-treatment is a very important factor and strongly influences the development of the protective coating," said Kirmaier. "High-energy costs and environmental legislation have driven research and development of alternative pre-treatment technologies. Among them are new trends like nanotechnology, silane technology or phosphorus-free pre-treatment."
