Participants of the Corrosion Protection Exhibition and Congress discussed the projects by the top R&D enterprises, methods used by major companies, new technologies available in the corrosion protection sphere, as well as other urgent matters.
Along with the Corrosion Protection Exhibition and Congress, the International Scientific-Practical Conference TOPICAL ISSUES OF CORROSION PROTECTION took place.
The conference was opened by Andrey Anisimov, Deputy CEO for Academic Research, Head of the Research and Production Complex ‘Non-metallic Materials and Corrosion Protection’ at the Kurchatov Institute National Research Center – Prometey Central Research Institute of Structural Materials.
Mr. Anisimov specified that today they have got two methods to protect from marine corrosion, which are the passive (protective) and the active (anodic) ones. The Kurchatov Institute National Research Center – Prometey Central Research Institute of Structural Materials designed protective alloys that are currently used for civil ships and war vessels managed by the Navy.
The anodic corrosion protection is the electric chemical one. It is used not only for ships, but for offshore drilling platforms operated by the oil and gas industry. For example the Prirazlomnaya Platform at the Pechora Sea was equipped with 120+ anodes of this type.
‘The system has been in operation for a few years already and is still in good condition. The investigation of its underwater part revealed that it hasn’t got any signs of corrosive or mechanical damage, so it can be used further for a long time,’ Andrey Anisimov explained.
Pavel Revin, Head of the Pipe and Corrosion-proof Coatings at Transneft R&D, announced that the company started testing a new technology, namely the protective coatings that can be applied underwater.
Mr. Revin also explained that Transneft has got its own program of corrosion protection technology research and introduction. Besides, the company has got a lab centre in Ufa, where different processes of soil and sea-water corrosion can be simulated. Then, the new materials and technologies have to be tested in situ. One of such technologies is corrosion protection coatings for underwater application.
‘Usually, elements are painted in dry conditions, in caisson boxes, but installing them costs much more than the coating itself, and in some cases such boxes can’t be mounted. That’s why there’s a quite unique category of coatings that are to be applied by divers,’ Pavel Revin explained.
Today, Transneft is studying these coatings in vitro and is going to start using them. They aren’t equivalent in every way to the coatings that are to be applied in dry conditions, but they can be used to protect underwater facilities in certain circumstances.
Denis Dyachenko, Head of Specialized Institute for Corrosion Issues and Material Engineering at Rosneft Oil Company, presented the comprehensive approach to corrosion management. Such policy is common abroad, and its key objective is reduction of corrosion-caused consequences.
‘Damage caused by corrosion comes to rather major amounts if assessed, which reach 3.5% gross domestic product. If all the countries of the world are considered, the total amount will be overwhelming. The point is we really have to manage certain corrosion processes throughout all the stages of the pipeline equipment life cycle,’ Denis Dyachenko outlined.
Mr. Dyachenko stated that this issue required a comprehensive approach which should really be used and promoted in Russia today.
‘The issue of corrosion is really challenging, and it hasn’t got a universal solution today. That’s why we aren’t going to stay idle, really,’ Andrey Anisimov summarized.