our belarusian operation was asked to offer a solution for the refurbishment and corrosion protection of the internals of a barometric tank operating at temperatures of 80 – 85°C. – as used in the hot leaching method of potash ore processing.

The customer, JSC Belaruskali, reported that the stainless steel tanks usually have no corrosion issues but in this case, welded metal components had set in motion the corrosion process.

After just six months in service, corrosion was apparent on the internal surfaces, especially at weld points and severe pitting corrosion was evident. After abrasive blast cleaning, localised through-wall corrosion was also revealed.
Corrocoat AKZ filled all corrosion pits with Corroglass 602. Multi-directional laminating cloth wetted out with laminating resin was applied, followed by two coats of Polyglass VEF to achieve a combined dft of 1200μm. The coating was post cured and thickness and holiday testing completed.

The customer is satisfied with the solution offered and with the fact that the tank was returned to full working condition in just one week.