Zero Corrosion B.V. is committed to providing environmentally friendly anti-corrosion solutions to The Netherlands, Belgium and Germany and recently introduced OXIFREE TM198 to The Benelux, an organic and reusable polymeric resin used to protect equipment from corrosion. This anti-corrosion solution was mainly used in the oil and gas industry until recently, when its advantages became interesting to several offshore renewable energy players.
Zero Corrosion B.V. has specially trained teams and equipment for on and offshore applications. OXIFREE is an organic polymeric resin coating applied in fluid state. It can be easily removed when required and is 100% reusable. It contains anti-corrosion substances that inhibit corrosion and penetrate threaded fastenings to stop seizures. The flexible polymeric resin coating allows for easy removal for inspection and re-application during scheduled maintenance and the material has been proven successful by external testing, such as the ASTM B117 Sea Salt Spray Test, to over 4 times industry standards.
The OXIFREE material is heated to 170 degrees Celsius and applied to substrates using a Polymelt application machine. No sand-blasting is required and the material has an extremely low (0.05%) VOC content. The material simply contracts around the substrate and the anti-corrosion substance in the material not only arrests any current corrosion but also acts as a membrane preventing any Oxygen from entering; therefore eliminating the possibility of future corrosion.
Up until now, the focus was on the main petroleum industries such as oil and gas. However, recently there have been discussions with several renewable energy construction companies about using OXIFREE to protect monopile mounting bolts, which are usually large (M64) and approximately 100 of these are required to secure a transition piece to an average 5.5 – 6 metre diameter monopile. Traditional methods of protection using paint are not only ineffective but often impossible to carry out on the day of erection due to the tight timescales involved.
Normally, the anti-corrosion systems used to protect monopiles comprise a thin layer of Epoxy zinc dust, often in conjunction with paint. However, for the mounting bolts which need to be re-tensioned from time to time, constructors and owners are attracted to the removable and reusable OXIFREE anti-corrosion system, which can be applied whatever the humidity and temperature, thus saving immense maintenance costs.
“We had a lengthy discussion recently with one client who came up with a time-frame window of approximately 4.5 hours to completely encapsulate the whole flange assembly (approx. 80 square metres) including 100 M64 nuts and bolts. This needed to be performed just after the tensioning team had finished each section, so there would be additional personnel present. Spraying paint is a health and safety issue and too time-consuming; and if the humidity is too high ‒ impossible. When the whole 24-hour cycle of installation relies on a jack-up costing around €100,000/day deciding the correct solution is imperative” Nicholas Kail, CEO of Zero Corrosion BV said.
It is vital for the offshore renewables industry to make sure that costly corrosion damage is prevented from the second the equipment is offshore. Success is measured by the overall cost of electricity (€/Kwh) and the maintenance costs of monopiles are very relevant to this figure.
“Humidity and temperature are not an issue with OXIFREE and application is very quick; combine this with the fact that it will protect your equipment for 10 years plus, it makes our solution far more cost effective than traditional systems,” Mr. Kail concluded.
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