Induron Protective Coatings (Birmingham, Alabama, USA), an industrial pioneer of high-performance protective coatings for ductile iron sewer linings, water/wastewater treatment facilities, potable water storage, and electrical transmission and distribution, recently introduced Novasafe as its newest product.
Novasafe is described as a thick-film, ceramic-filled novolac epoxy formulated to stand up to the most extreme environments encountered in treatment plants on concrete and carbon steel surfaces.
“In the current regulatory and financial climate, water utilities are increasing their focus on the state of their currently in-service treatment plant assets, including aeration basins, clarifiers, grit chambers, chlorine contact basins, etc.,” says William Seawell, director of technical services.
“All these assets have an increasingly apparent need for linings and corrosion solutions that can be installed on site,” Seawell adds. “In a period of increased influent volume, more chemically extreme influent, and increasing regulatory pressure, there is a rising need for immersion coating maintenance in treatment plants.”
For decades, Induron has utilized thick-film ceramic epoxy technology to protect buried ductile iron pipe interiors, water tank interiors, and water treatment plant interiors.
“Novasafe is making that possible by lowering the barrier to entry with long pot-life, single-leg application and extended service life from a relatively thin film,” Seawell explains. “Novasafe is distinctly not a 250 mil (6,350 micron), plural-applied snap cure product optimized for shop throughput. It does all that those products do with 80 mils (2,032 microns) of film, and it is jaw-droppingly easy to apply in the field just as it is formulated to be.”
Novasafe’s formulation chemistry is unique in the industry. According to the manufacturer, it can provide the corrosion and erosion protection treatment plant operators need to rehabilitate structures in the most extreme environments—and all with one less coat compared to traditional epoxies and far less film thickness than polyurethane or polyurea.
Novasafe can accomplish this with its unique resin and filler package, which is combined with Induron’s decades of experience in wastewater corrosion protection through its shop-applied ceramic products.
According to the manufacturer, Novasafe can withstand continuous exposure to the entire pH range, a variety of strong mineral acids, all strong alkalis, high hydrogen sulfide concentrations often encountered in wastewater influent channels and digestors, as well as the strongly oxidative conditions often encountered in treating that same wastewater in chlorine contact chambers.
Ceramic linings in general, and Novasafe in particular, can provide a level of corrosion and erosion protection in immersion—both on concrete and steel—that is unmatched by “performance equivalents” in both absolute and cost-adjusted terms, the company explained.
As Induron describes, Novasafe is a novel lining material that should provide efficiency and dollar benefits to the applicator and asset owner, and it does so in ways that are demonstrable and quantifiable. Novasafe is easier to apply and is more robust in dry film than many competitors.
“While Novasafe is not appropriate for all services—no lining material is—there is a place in every treatment plant specification or treatment plant where Novasafe can assist in rehabilitating structures in immersion for continued long-term protection with a reduced maintenance load while providing savings in maintenance dollars and improving the look of the facility,” says Davies Hood, president of Induron.
About Induron
Founded in 1947, Induron manufactures high-performance coatings that serve a range of industrial applications, including wastewater service; electrical transmission and distribution; and the potable water storage, treatment, and transmission industries.
Source: Induron Protective Coatings, www.induron.com.