Page 241 - Challenges in Corrosion Costs Causes Consequences and Control(2015)

ENGINEERING COMPOSITES AND PLASTICS 219

4.4.5 Deicers
A potentially lucrative market for corrosion inhibitors exists in deicers used on streets
and bridges in northern areas. The deicers, which consist of rock salt and calcium
carbonate, cause corrosion damage not only to automobiles, but also to steel and
steel reinforcements in bridges, light-stanchions, and underground pipes and cables.
The technical challenge is to formulate an inhibitor, which is not only nontoxic to the
environment, but is also economical enough to be attractive for city budgets.

4.5 ENGINEERING COMPOSITES AND PLASTICS

In 1996, the plastics industry accounted for $274.5 billion in shipments (11). It is
difficult to estimate the use of plastics for corrosion control, as in many cases, plastics
and composites are used for a combination of reasons, including corrosion control,
light-weight, economics, strength to weight ratio, and other unique properties.
Certain polymers are used largely, if not exclusively, for corrosion control pur-
poses. The significant markets for corrosion control by polymers are composites
(primarily glass-reinforced thermosetting resins) PVC pipe, polyethylene pipe, and
fluoropolymers.

4.5.1 Composites
In the context of corrosion, composites refer to glass or other fiber or flake-reinforced
thermosetting resins. Composite products use for their anticorrosion properties are
fiberglass-reinforced pipe and storage tanks, fiber-reinforced plastic grating,
handrails, I-beams, and other shapes equal to these that are made of steel.
The Composites Institute, a division of the Society of Plastics Industry, Inc., esti-
mates that composite shipments in 1998 were 1.63 billion kg and have increased
53% (K. Walshon, Society of Plastics Industry, Composites Institute, Personal com-
munication, Oct. 1999) since 1991. Table 4.10 shows the distribution of composite
shipments according to industry sectors and indicates that the largest shipment per-
centage is to the transportation and construction sectors. Corrosion-resistant applica-
tions account for only 11.8%.
The cost of composites was estimated by one major manufacturer of
fiber-reinforced plastics (FRP) for corrosion-resistant applications to be $9.70/kg
($4.41/lb). This works out to $1.864 billion spent on composites in the United States
for industrial corrosion-resistant applications.
Fiberglass pipe is representative of composites used for corrosion control pur-
poses. The fiberglass pipe market in the United States is estimated to be $350 million.
About a third of this market is in oil and gas production, 25% is in gasoline trans-
portation and storage, and 15% in the petrochemical industry. Another advantage is
the light weight of fiberglass pipe aside from the major aspect of corrosion protection.
The difference in installed cost between steel and fiber reinforced plastic compo-
nent must be used in estimating the corrosion costs, as the composites are replacement
for steel.