FRP products have huge market in the industry corrosion-control field

FRP products have huge market in the industry corrosion-control field. According to the World Corrosion Organization (New York, N.Y.), the annual cost of corrosion worldwide is estimated at $2.2 trillion (USD) — more than 3 percent of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP). Corrosion-control products are required in practically every area of industry and daily life — from the power plants that produce our energy and the wastewater treatment plants that clean our water to the bridges that connect our highways and railways. Fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP) has been used in many industrial corrosion-control applications, notably as pipes and vessels in the chemical processing industry, for more than 30 years. The industrial corrosion market is, in fact, one of the faster growing segments of the composite industry, according to Matthew Lieser, global specification leader for Owens Corning Composite Materials LLC (Toledo, Ohio). It has recently experienced phenomenal growth in areas such as power and water management. Yet for all these successes, Thom Johnson, corrosion industry manager at Ashland Performance Materials (Dublin, Ohio), says his company estimates that FRP “commands less than five percent of the corrosion-control market for industrial processes. The vast majority of this market,” he says, “is composed of metals and lined materials — metal and concrete.”

That fact notwithstanding, FRP made with fiberglass chopped strand mat is the demonstrably superior choice in acidic environments and in contact with dissolved aqueous salts. “These environments actively pit and corrode most metals and thus become a serious challenge for corrosion design engineers,” explains Johnson. “These same environments are much less aggressive towards FRP and, thus, the reason behind its extended durability relative to metals.” When properly designed, FRP systems also have very good abrasion resistance relative to metals, which is important when handling the slurry materials found in air-pollution control systems and metallurgical processes, he adds.

In short, the corrosion-control market is thriving. Given the composites industry’s single-digit penetration into this sector, so far, it’s well worth the effort to grow its market share. Potential applications abound. Realizing the potential will hinge on whether today’s paradigms continue to shift in favor of FRP. If they do, suppliers of composite corrosion-control materials say they’re ready to help composites manufacturers educate their customers and they have the product to support resulting sales. “What we have on the shelf is ready to go into a huge number of existing applications,” stresses Johnson. “New chemistry is great,” he adds, and it is welcome, but he emphasizes that a lack of the material “is not what is holding FRP back from becoming a household name in this industry.”