Keywords
Citation
(1999), "Combating aggressive chemical environments", Anti-Corrosion Methods and Materials, Vol. 46 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/acmm.1999.12846eab.006
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 1999, MCB UP Limited
Combating aggressive chemical environments
Methods
Combating aggressive chemical environments
Keywords Ceilcote, KCH, Coatings, Floorings
Three of the Ceilcote range of lining and coating system products, available in the UK from KCH Keramchemie (UK) Ltd, have recently been used to provide an acid-proof floor at Eastman Chemical Europe's new terephthalic acid (PTA) manufacturing plant at Europort in The Netherlands.
In specifying a suitable flooring material to protect the concrete floor base of the PTA plant a number of issues had to be considered. The most important consideration is the extremely aggressive chemical environment which the floor has to endure. This is caused by acetic acid which is used in the manufacturing process in concentrations from 10-100 per cent.
Second, the flooring of the production unit requires high wearing properties, a factor which is complicated by the high humidity caused by being close to the sea. Third, because installation of the floor started in the winter and progressed for about 12 months it had to tolerate a wide range of temperatures.
Finally, installation also had to be done at night, enabling other construction work to proceed unhindered.
Two fast-curing coating systems were specified, both of which would provide chemical resistance to the acetic acid as well as mechanical resistance to forklift truck traffic and general long-term wearing protection. A vinyl ester mortar screed (Celicote 167 Corocrete) was applied to 3,500m2 of ground floor slab and the plant's wastewater treatment facility and jetty. This was applied with a hand trowel and a resin top-coat (Ceilcote 167 Corocrete sealer) applied using a roller to a dry film thickness (DFT) of 10mm.
A vinyl ester broadcast floor coating (Ceilcote 163 Corocrete), which additionally provided anti-skid protection, was applied to 5,500m2 across four floors. This self-levelling coating was applied with a notched trowel and spiked roller. A broadcast of oven-dried quartz of between 0.3 and 0.8mm was manually added to the topcoat. After the excess was removed a finish coat was applied by roller for a total DFT of 3-5mm.
A primer (Ceilcote 380), applied using a roller at a DFT of about 150-200 microns and allowed to cure for 12-24 hours, was required for both coatings.
Details available from KCH Keramchemie (UK) Ltd. Tel: +44 (0)1270 761720; Fax: +44 (0)1270 761697.