Corrosion control coating solutions provider Corrocoat South Africa aims to use Nanoflake – a glassflake reinforced coating innovation used to ensure efficient corrosion protection of capital equipment – in upcoming projects.

The technology has been used in the Lesotho Highlands Water Project’s (LHWP’s) tunnel refurbishment, specifically for the transfer tunnel, delivery tunnel, Muela hydropower station and bypass tunnel steel linings.

The tunnel refurbishment project was awarded Project of Year by industry organisation Corrosion Institute of Southern Africa, which Corrocoat MD Louis Pretorius affirms signifies the company’s ongoing contribution to large-scale projects through its corrosion protection technologies.

He suggests that the Nanoflake coating technology can be transformative for local operations, as it offers a cost-efficient solution with a higher permeation resistance than “cheaper” alternatives, which helps to ensure corrosion longevity.

Corrocoat branch manager Richard Collins says the company’s using the technology in the project will help to ensure that the refurbished infrastructure will last for another 30 years.

“The LHWP refurbishment work was undertaken during a planned maintenance shutdown. It offers a good case study of how to properly conduct maintenance, as opposed to a reactive approach once infrastructure is nearing [collapse] or has failed, leading to panic and a rush to start refurbishment.”

The Lesotho government’s prompt response and willingness to “get the job done” should be mimicked by South African authorities, as a similar mindset could help to address infrastructural challenges, including smaller-diameter water pipes underneath road surfaces, he adds.

To that end, Pretorius notes that the Nanoflake can assist in refurbishing old underground pipe systems, with Corrocoat operations manager Ian van der Heever noting that the technology allows for conducting coating applications in steel pipelines using pigging – the process of cleaning and/or applying corrosion protection in pipelines or industrial tubes, using specialist scrapers.

“Corrocoat has developed a thick-film coating that can be applied to a steel pipe wall using pigging technology and extrusion. The coating is up to 1mm thick.”

When pigging technologies are paired with Nanoflake coatings, “an amazing corrosion resistant barrier is created, and pipeline properties are enhanced”, he elaborates.

Corrocoat was “the first South African company to adopt this technology”, in addition to manufacturing the materials used.

“We are at the cutting edge of Nanoflake technology,” Van der Heever adds.

Benefits

Pretorius reiterates that the primary benefit of the Nanoflake technology is its ability to protect assets and improve their longevity.

“If one adds Nanoflake reinforcement to a conventional coating solution, it can double or triple the asset’s design life and/or the corrosion protection level. In some cases, it can be enhanced five-fold. The layers of flake lie on top of one another like fish scales and are embedded within a resin matrix, and this slows down the rate of diffusion or permeation of small molecules that cause the corrosion,” he explains.

Further, Nanoflake technology produces a flexible type of coating that facilitates movement, thereby improving the abrasion and wear resistance of the structure to which it is applied.

For example, State-owned freight company Transnet used the technology in 2010 to have its 412 jet-fuel rail tank wagons coated, and the wagons have not been recoated since.

The technology has also been used for the Steenbras power station, in Gordons Bay, and the cooling water system at State-owned power utility Eskom’s Lethabo power station.

“It’s got a good track record and references,” Collins extols.

Going forward, Pretorius says that it is important that organisations involved in the corrosion control coatings industry adopt Nanoflake technology. Corrocoat is providing the technology for multiple companies in the sector to enable asset managers or owners to access cost-efficient coating technology.