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[July 2008]
New Coating Formulation Drastically Reduces Downtime
Belzona Inc (Miami, FL, USA), a leading provider of coatings and repair composites, has announced significant improvements to an existing protective coating which allow it to further cut down time, thereby reducing cost to the customer.
Available since 1993 as one product, Belzona®1391 (Ceramic HT Metal) now includes new versions S and T, which represent sprayable and trowelable application processes respectively. Being sprayable allows Belzona® 1391S to cover more area in less time, a key advantage for large scale applications. Conversely, Belzona® 1391T is non-sprayable as it contains higher levels of abrasion resistant fillers, making it an ideal solution in aggressive high wear environments.
Unlike the original Belzona® 1391 (Ceramic HT), both new products can be high-voltage holiday tested to ensure desired thickness. Most importantly, these new versions now have a generous overcoating window, which is the greatest factor in time reduction. Ivan Ordaz, Technical Service Engineer for Belzona Inc, stated: “This system allows for rapid applications by eliminating the need to abrasive blast between coats, possibly eliminating days from the length of application. With Belzona® 1391 S and T, there is no need to wait for the first coat to cure sufficiently to tolerate abrasive blasting. Now, one only needs to wait long enough for the first coat to become dimensionally stable before applying the second coat – a feature made possible from eliminating the amine bloom with the new formulation.”
Belzona® 1391 S and T have been traditionally used in the oil and gas industry against erosion-corrosion damage. Repair areas include separator vessels, high temperature vessels and other equipment operating in contact with water and other aqueous solutions at high temperatures - a major problem faced by design and maintenance engineers. While other protective coatings may seem successful at moderate temperatures, they fail when temperatures rise as migration through the coating readily occurs above 90°C resulting in blistering and premature breakdown. Other conventional solutions which offer improved migration properties include barrier coatings such as glass flake. However, this option sacrifices cavitation and abrasion resistance, is susceptible to impact damage, decreases ease of use and often poses significant health and safety risks during application.
Belzona® 1391 S and T do not share these drawbacks because these products combine a unique blend of inorganic erosion-corrosion resistant reinforcing agents with densely cross linked heat resistant polymers. The result is said to be longevity and performance unlike any alternative while radically reducing downtime.
ENDS