Calculating the sustainability impact of coating solutions used to protect steel structures against corrosion

Paper ID: C2025-00132 ABSTRACT: Environmental and economic consequences of corrosion are substantial. Direct costs of corrosion includes protective measures and maintenance, while indirect costs cover productivity losses, environmental damage, and safety issues.
Novel coating solutions with enhanced anti-corrosive and mechanical properties go beyond the standard performances on the market. The latest generation of activated zinc rich primers exceeds industry recognized standards requirements such as ISO 12944 by leveraging its innovative zinc activation process.
A compilation of real life, accelerated testing and third party test reports data is reviewed to demonstrate activated zinc rich primers superior performance even in the most severe environments. The initial expectations based on accelerated testing results were demonstrated in a seven years real life exposure study included in this review.
The sustainability scorecard analysis was used to demonstrates that solutions based on activated zinc primers have the best sustainability profile. Scorecards present a quantitative, data based analysis allowing informed choices about a solution environmental impact to help decision makers and stakeholders implementing and promoting environmentally responsible practices.