Water

In the Water industry in general the main capital asset is the distribution pipeline. While cast iron was extensively used in water distribution systems in the last 5 decades, carbon steel and other types of alloy steel are by far the most commonly used pipeline material for construction today.

When it comes to corrosion for buried pipelines, the first line of defence is protective coatings. The main function of protective coatings is to provide the pipeline with a barrier against corrosion from its surrounding environment.

Protective coatings must be properly selected, applied, handled and installed carefully to provide adequate performance for the design life of the pipeline.

Bituminous enamels have been widely used for more than 6 decades in combination with various fibreglass or felt to gain mechanical strength. Apart from being a major health concern, bituminous enamels were replaced by the introduction of liquid epoxies, cold tape wraps, fusion bonded epoxy and many other conventional coating systems.

However, due to many application variables, these conventional systems have not achieved their service life expectancies and as a result the Water industry has suffered great financial burden in excavating the line, repairing coating flaws and backfilling (see Figure 1 below demonstrating premature failure).

Anti Corrosion Technology (ACT) has recently introduced to the Australian Water Industry, an internationlly-proven coating technology (see Figure 2 below) and comprehensive solution for distribution pipelines, rehabilitation and new projects to make the conventional system repair easier, more cost effective, safer and environmentally friendly with a guaranteed long life performance. Contact ACT now to find out more.

Figure 1. Premature coating failure on a buried pipe

Figure 2.  Complete pipeline rehabilitation using STOPAQ system