News Release

Poeton coating gives 50-year life in corrosive environments

18th May 2004

 
A special anti-corrosive surface treatment that was developed by Poeton Industries to coat storage drums containing low risk contaminated waste, is available for industrial and defence applications where long-term exposure to aggressive environments is a problem.

The Apticote treatment consists of a sacrificial 'super-zinc' base coating with a spray-applied, two-pack epoxy polymer finish. Poeton R&D manager John Archer says the coating was originally designed to provide a 50-year life for more than 5,000 BNFL storage drums, which were constructed of mild steel with inner and outer containers and a lid. All surfaces were completely coated to resist any form of corrosive attack.

Explaining the long service life, he says corrosion can successfully attack a conventional 'envelope' coating such as paint through minute holes in its surface, while a 'sacrificial' coatings such as zinc (galvanising) relies on progressive oxidation to protect the surface.

"The reason the Apticote treatment is so durable is that it protects the sacrificial coating with an extremely tough corrosion resistant epoxy polymer that has already lasted ten years in our own atmospheric tests with absolutely no signs of deterioration!" He says.

Poeton says the coating can be specified to prevent saltwater or atmospheric corrosion of components or structures in marine, defence and industrial applications.


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File: Nuclear storage drums