With exposure to harmful elements day after day, waste water tanks are guaranteed to experience corrosion and leakage. It goes without being said, waste water treatment facilities are the last place you want to experience such problems. The corrosive environment being endured requires the most resistant of coating systems that will protect your clarifier, digester, or waste water tank from problems such as freeze-thaw, chemical attack, settlement, abrasion, corrosion, and rust.
When steel corrodes or rusts, it can cause concrete to crack and spall, decreasing the structural integrity of your tank and allowing harmful elements to easily enter into the concrete. The first step you want to take when deciding what method to use to prevent deterioration is to determine why your concrete/steel tank is deteriorating. To figure out the origin of deterioration, it is a good idea to take off the existing coating of the tank. This can be done by abrasive blasting or slurryblasting. Abrasive blasting, also known as sandblasting, is a general term used for blasting very fine bits of material, such as sand, at a high-velocity to clean a surface. Slurry blasting involves the same mechanics except with the addition of water. The water helps to eliminate a majority of the dust associated with sandblasting.
Consult with engineers and project managers to help pinpoint the root cause of the damage and help you find a long-term solution instead of a quick fix. Remember when dealing with confined space, you want to make sure you are hiring a professional that has a good understanding of the possible safety hazards. Such hazards include limited passageway, oxygen shortage, and physical and chemical risks.
After the surface has been cleaned and the source of damage has been detected, your interior tank painter will decide what coating system will work best for your tank. The coating being used should be rust inhibitive and long-lasting. Such coatings include high solids epoxy, an aliphatic urethane, a polyurea or a solvent free elastomeric polyurethane coating.
Alpine Painting and Sandblasting Contractors has over 39 years of experience in the tank painting industry. Some of the tanks types we service include elevated municipal and private water tanks/towers, chemical standpipe tanks, large bullet propane tanks, ground storage oil tanks, clarifiers, digesters, and sewerage and waste water tanks. We have done interior and exterior tank painting and sandblasting in locations such as Long Island, NY, North Bergen, NJ, West Point, Rockland County, and Parsippany Troy Hills.
