Corrosion Control
February 2016 www.coatingsworld.com Coatings World | 39

and as this degrades over time the coating
performance will suffer as a result.”
Customers expect productive and us-
er-friendly coating systems. “Many are
sensitive to the environmental impact of
their operations and prefer reduced vola-
tiles, minimal waste from the products,
and require profitable cycle time from
the products that they use, noted Strukelj.
“Finally, they look for superior long-term
corrosion protection from various envi-
ronmental factors, e.g., chemical, ultravi-
olet radiation, abrasion, and scratch and
mar performance, and seek robust film
properties such as excellent adhesion and
chip resistance to various properly pre-
pared substrates, e.g., blasted, chemical,
solvent, and solvent-sand-solvent treat-
ments. Overall, they want a brand name
that they can depend on and a durable
coating they can rely on.”
Performance requirements are depen-
dent on the in-service demands of the
asset and the expectations of the cus-
tomer. “Performance can include many
attributes as well as corrosion resistance,
including color retention, chemical re-
sistance and even fire protection,” said
Hesselink. “The ultimate choice will de-
pend on the type of asset, the regulatory
and operational environment, as well as
customer preference for a particular aes-
thetic finish or color scheme.”
AkzoNobel has a strategic focus on
corrosion protection research and tech-
nology both internally and in external
partnerships with major customers, uni-
versities and other institutions. “That
work includes the fundamental under-
standing of corrosion, surface prepara-
tion influence and lifetime prediction
methods,” said Hesselink. “A great ex-
ample is the partnership with Manchester
University in which a multimillion-pound
investment has been made into research
into coating breakdown mechanisms in
corrosive environments, New technolo-
gies for corrosion control and protection
are being actively screened and intro-
duced in our product range.”
AkzoNobel’s major focus is on the
oil and gas, power generation and min-
ing markets. Hesselink stressed that de-
spite the external pressures upon all of
these market segments, such as lower
commodity prices, there are still oppor-
tunities to grow in these segments. “For
example, as oil and gas capital expen-
diture is reduced, we are helping our
customers further extend asset life via
proactive maintenance programs such
as our Interplan tool,” he added. “Using
Interplan, we can develop focused plans
to repair and maintain coating systems
on assets that could otherwise fail.”

Axalta’s Cinoman noted that the company continues to conduct and sponsor research to expand the understanding of mechanism, detection, and control of corrosion. “We also focus on developing accelerated methods that offer improved correlation to field performance. Axalta is also focusing on enhanced product service life through improved barrier coatings as well as next generation anti-corrosion pigment packages. We are excited about the new developments now underway in the protective coatings industry that offer novel chemical, electrical, mechanical, and thermal properties to reduce corrosion. Examples of these include polymeric and nano-scale corrosion inhibitors.” CW

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Coating Thickness Gage for Non-Metal Substrates Coating Thickness Gage for Non-Metal Substrates
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