DuraChem 500 series lining systems (540, 560, 580, 580 PW and DK2) from AmTech Tank Lining feature a high-build, high-temperature spray-up application. The 100 percent solids polyethylene coating provides a bonded monolithic wall on cement, steel, laminate, and fiberglass-reinforced plastic vessels.
“When we spray-up this system, it’s like industrial strength Tupperware,” says Rob Pearlman, senior containment systems engineer. “The material has flexibility and ductility that enables the coating to stretch with the tank.” The chemical lining, up to 150 mils thick, is blended for specific liquids, such as wastewater or potable water, and resists hydrogen sulfide. Ultraviolet-resistant blends are available for outside tanks.
The lining system will not blister or chip off. “Thin mil layers usually peel off because one small area disbanded,” Pearlman says. “That creates a bubble, which ruptures, allowing contaminants to flow under the coating. It’s like when your car is scratched. Soon the whole area around it has rust bubbles and you have osmotic blistering.”
Coatings that do not expand and contract with the movement of steel and concrete tanks can develop micro-cracks, breeches or bubbles that eventually cause the coating to fail, Pearlman says. DuraChem linings, however, stretch with the substrate and handle up to 1,000 psi. “The monolithic shell inside the tank acts as a barrier between the contents and the substrate,” he says. “Some of our systems have elongation characteristics of 580 percent.”
As with any substrate damage, such as concrete spalding, steel corrosion or fiberglass delamination, repair and preparation is the key to a successful outcome. If needed, AmTech can perform some or all of the repair and prep work. “Fifty percent of our work is prep work,” says Dennis Paquet, containment systems engineer. “Getting that tank ready to go is what takes the time and patience. The way I look at it, you can put the best paint in the world on a ’68 Corvette, but if you don’t do a lick of prep, in two weeks that paint is coming off.” For more information: 888/839-0373; www.armorshieldlining.com.
