Belzona Repairs Leaking Caustic Tank

HARROGATE, ENGLAND, September 26, 2012 (Press-News.org) The engineers at the plant were looking for a long term repair solution for a caustic tank suffering leaks on the welded seams where the caustic acid was leaking from the painted mild steel tank. The tank was situated within a stainless steel secondary containment area and was made up of four half round sections which were welded together. The tank contained around 8000 liters of 28% caustic soda.

The tank was fully drained prior to the application and the front of the secondary containment area was removed to aid access. A scaffold was erected to gain access to the higher parts of the tank.

Application service provider Belzona Technosol won the contract to refurbish the tank. The entire area was pressure washed to ensure full adhesion of the Belzona products. An 80mm wide repair area was then masked off along the length of the welded seam and prepared using a Monti MBX Bristle Blaster, a hand-held surface preparation tool suitable for use on a variety of substrates including metals, rubbers and plastics.

The product selected for the repair of the leaking areas was Belzona 1111 (Supermetal) a multi-purpose, machinable, repair and rebuild system. The two-component paste grade product is based on a ceramic steel reinforced polymer system which when cured is durable and chemical resistant. The product is ideally suited to applications on tanks, pipes, casings, keyways, bearing housings, shafts, hydraulic rams, engine blocks and flange faces.

The first layer of Belzona 1111 (Supermetal) was applied incorporating Belzona 9341 (Reinforcing Tape) to the repair area. Once cured, a second coat of the reinforced product was applied. After removing the masking tape the product was left to cure.

This application will provide a long term, corrosion protection solution for this caustic tank.