Sustainability
Resicoat rises to the challenge
Epoxy powder coating aces long-running valves and fittings test
Back in the year 2000, as the new Millennium dawned, plans were afoot to carry out a long-term test involving more than ten companies – and AkzoNobel was one of them.
Conducted in Bad Bentheim, Germany, by an industry association and water board, the test involved our Resicoat powder coatings. Now, after more than two decades, the results – verified by the MPA Hannover testing institute – are now in.
Our Resicoat epoxy powder coating has become one of the first products of its kind to complete a 25-year real-world study to prove its ability to protect valves and fittings and provide long-term anti-corrosion protection for drinking water supply systems.
Valves and fittings
As part of the test, fully operational test valves and fittings coated with Resicoat were installed in a drinking water pipe before it was buried two meters underground – the standard depth for water pipes worldwide.
When the pipeline was unearthed, it showed no leaks, water flowed freely and Resicoat’s epoxy coatings displayed no delamination or cracking. With no impacting signs of corrosion, the results showed the integrity of the pipeline had been preserved.
“Epoxy powder coatings make water supply systems more reliable and help reduce maintenance costs,” explains Yidong Meng, Global Functional Segment Manager at our Powder Coatings business.
“They’re more dependable than ‘traditional’ paint or enamel coatings and consequently help minimize water wastage due to leaks and floods. Ultimately, this ensures a reliable, sustainable source of clean drinking water for millions of people around the world.”
Drinking water
The Resicoat R series is a high quality thermosetting epoxy powder coating specifically designed for the protection of cast iron or steel valves and fittings used in water distribution networks. It’s applied in one layer on a pre-heated surface by fluidized bed or electrostatic spray application.
The research was carried out by industry association GSK (Quality Association Heavy-Duty Corrosion Protection of Valves and Fittings with Powder Coating e.V.) and the Wasserbeschaffungsverband Obergrafschaft Bad Bentheim (Water Supply Association of Upper County Bad Bentheim and Surrounding Areas).
“This comprehensive study provides the market with important, independent and irrefutable proof of the value of epoxy powder coatings in safeguarding the integrity of potable water supplies,” says Lars Walther, General Manager GSK.
“It will give even greater confidence to water suppliers that one of the most challenging of issues to their pipes and associated infrastructure has a credible, long-term solution.”
