Corrosion is a multitrillion-dollar worldwide problem, costing billions of dollars in New Zealand alone. Now, a new technology is being developed to help solve the problem.
Corrosion poses a significant challenge to the infrastructure sector in New Zealand, affecting various vital structures, such as bridges, pipelines and buildings. With the country’s vast coastline and diverse climate, including high humidity and exposure to salt water, corrosion becomes a prevalent threat. The extensive use of steel and concrete in infrastructure exacerbates this issue, as these materials are susceptible to corrosion over time, leading to structural deterioration and potential safety hazards. Additionally, the presence of sulphur dioxide and other pollutants in urban areas can accelerate the corrosion process.
As a result, effective corrosion prevention and maintenance strategies are crucial for preserving the integrity and longevity of New Zealand’s infrastructure, ensuring the safety and wellbeing of citizens. The risk of corrosion also needs to be reduced so that the built environment can meet the durability requirements stipulated under the New Zealand Building Code.
A special corrosion-resistant compound being developed by researchers from James Cook University (JCU), in Australia, could help solve the global problem of corrosion affecting everything from fighter jets to cargo ships.
JCU Distinguished Professor of Physical Sciences Peter Junk and his team hope to take their work to the next stage, but require further support from industry to produce a paint using the compound that can be applied on surfaces prone to corrosion.
‘It’s effectively a two-pronged attack at solving the corrosion problem. We’ve combined an organic corrosion inhibitor and a metal corrosion inhibitor into the one compound,’ Junk says.
‘In corrosion, you can have two things occurring in what’s called an oxidation-reduction reaction. The organic part of our compound inhibits oxidation of a surface, and the metal part inhibits the reduction part.
‘The idea is if we add a rather insoluble corrosion inhibitor into the paint, it will not get washed away by rain and will act as a slow-release mechanism of our compounds that will inhibit corrosion for a very lengthy period.’
Junk and his team are confident that the paint has the potential to reduce corrosion damage in many different sectors, including infrastructure and public works. The compound has already proved to be successful in the lubricants and cleaning materials that are used to maintain mining equipment.
‘The cars and vehicles we did testing on went from lasting about last eight months to about three years,’ he says.
The compound has also been tested in recycled water systems in the lab, such as cooling towers, and in special polyurethane (plastic) coatings.
‘We’ve been working on the broader project for 20 years, and we are now looking at using this compound in hydrogen storage facilities … one of the problems with hydrogen storage is you have to store it under pressure in steel tanks,’ Junk says.
‘The high pressure can get into the pores of the steel and start to corrode the tank, but we now have a potential solution thanks to the development of this corrosive-resistant paint concept.’
Eliminating corrosion in the New Zealand infrastructure sector would bring about myriad benefits, ranging from improved safety and reliability, to significant cost savings. Reducing corrosion reduces the need for frequent repairs and replacements, enhancing the overall resilience of infrastructure while contributing to sustainable development by minimising resource consumption and waste generation.