Development and characterization of the Ni-P-W coating for anti-corrosion protection in equipment used in the oil, food and pharmaceutical industries

Abstract

Undoubtedly, the industries are subject to corrosion problems in their facilities, to a greater or lesser extent. In this context, it´s important to note that maintenance and shutdown costs resulting from failures produced by corrosive phenomena in the oil, food and pharmaceutical industries are significantly higher than those related to the application of metallic coatings. These deposits extend the useful life of materials that are subjected to the most diverse corrosive media, such as valves and oil ducts submerged in offshore platforms. Therefore, the importance of this project is associated to the relevance of the topic and the development of an alternative alloy to be applied industrially, and the results obtained may contribute with adequate technical and economic information for the improvement of production systems, in addition to enabling sustainable use of the natural resources, with minimization of damage to the socio-economic aspect and environmental impact. Depending on the efficiency of the chemical reduction method applied, the surface coating recovers the metals in the elementary state, minimizing the waste quantities to be treated. The great scientific and technological challenge of this project is the development of a methodology to produce a ternary alloy coating (Ni-P-W) by chemical reduction. When evaluating the mechanical and corrosion resistance properties of the deposits obtained, it is expected to develop a coating superior to the nickel-phosphorus alloys offered commercially. The characterization methods will be used in the best alloys obtained, namely: metallographic analysis (determination of deposit thickness), Adhesion Testing, X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) with chemical analysis by Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDX) and Corrosion Testing. With the characterization of the alloys, it is expected into obtain most of the properties of these adhered solids to be used in corrosion tests. The results obtained will allow not only to evaluate the alloys, but also to help define procedures for chemical deposition at the industrial level. Due to the lack and need for work on codeposition in Ni-P metal alloys and, considering that companies are increasingly investing in technologies to minimize the environmental impact with the use of toxic metals, the research will bring new contributions to the areas of mechanical engineering, applied electrochemistry (corrosion and protection of surfaces) and environmental engineering. With the development of this innovative research project, proposing to synthesize and characterize Ni-P-W codeposited alloys, new industrial sectors will benefit, mainly the protective coating companies, forming a large economic pole, as well as the direct application in carbon steel equipment used in the oil, food and pharmaceutical industries. The company that houses this project will assume a prominent and avant-garde position in the Surface Engineering, consolidating it as a reference in the market in which it operates. (AU)