Performance Coatings Through Science
Fouling, the deposition and accumulation of unwanted materials on heat transfer surfaces, negatively affects the efficiency of equipment. It decreases the heat transfer coefficient, reduces the circumference of the fluid path, increases pressure drop across the equipment and speeds up corrosion.
Fouling is a complex dynamic phenomenon which is time dependent and a consequence of several different mechanisms. Types include particulate, scaling or crystallization, biological, corrosion and chemical or coking fouling. Fouling is a serious and costly problem, especially in the oil & gas as well as the high temperature processing chemical industries.
OLEOFLO 250 is an anti-fouling non-stick coating which when applied presents a high gloss, low friction surface with surface roughness (Ra) less than 50 nm. Because of its significantly low surface energy, OLEOFLO 250 coatings are amphiphobic, repelling both water and oil from the surface at room temperature and at high temperatures of up to 250 °C. Coatings submerged in chemical solvents such as xylene and MEK for 7 days show little to no change in the coating surface.
OLEOFLO 250 has a long pot life of several days, and typically applied at 4-7 mils thickness, and is useful in several applications such as compressor blades and diaphragms, crude oil containing tanks, heat exchanger surfaces and any other surface requiring non-stick and anti-coking properties.
OLEOFLO 250 cures to a glossy surface with a low coefficient of friction, offering little to no resistance to fluid flow. Amphiphobicity is very important in mitigating fouling and this coating has a surface energy low enough to prevent both oil and water from adhering to it. Water beads up and quickly rolls off the coated surface, while oil easily flows off the surface without fouling it.
