When Greenville Water needed to recoat some surfaces in the 20-year-old L.B. Stovall Water Treatment Plant in Travelers Rest, South Carolina, the project team was looking for coating systems that would last at least as long as the previous coatings, if not longer. The owners turned to the coating supplier they trusted most for their water tanks and treatment systems: Tnemec.
According to local Tnemec representative, Dan Anderson, he and his team at TSE, Inc. have been working with Greenville Water for various projects over the years.
“Although it’s not confirmed, we are pretty sure we supplied the coatings on this exact plant when it opened more than 20 years ago,” stated Anderson. “The owners keep turning back to us because our coatings, even the older technologies, give them decades worth of quality service.”
When the TSE team visited the plant early on, they noticed the secondary containment pits needed the most work, as they had been subjected to chemicals and washdowns more often than other surfaces in the building. But they also noticed accelerated corrosion in other areas being caused by condensation.
“We have seen a lot of success in limiting condensation at other treatment plants using our insulating coating, Aerolon,” explained Dan. “We explained the possible benefits of using that system over other options, the project team agreed that we should try Aerolon.”
Piping in the basement areas were power washed and cleaned according to SSPC-SP 3 Power Tool Cleaning then primed using a surface-tolerant epoxy primer, Series 135 Chembuild. Following Series 135, two coats of Series 971 Aerolon Acrylic were applied to the pipes for a total of 80-90 mils DFT. A finish coat of the versatile, low VOC acrylic polyurethane, Series 72T Endura-Shield, was then applied at 3-5 mils DFT.
Caustic containment areas in the plant were coated with a full fiberglass-mat-reinforced secondary containment system from Tnemec, including Series 239SC Chembloc. Other pipes, pumps, motors and miscellaneous metal surfaces were overcoated using just two coats of Series 135 at 4-6 mils DFT per coat.
Three years after being coated, Anderson paid a visit to the site to check on the status of the coatings, especially the insulating coatings.
“Before the coating project, the piping was corroded, and water was constantly running off the pipes onto the floor,” explained Anderson. “But when I revisited it, there was no water anywhere and the piping was dry. Greenville Water is very pleased with the results.”