Surface recently carried out the preparation and application of protective coatings of 3 tanks located within the effluent plant in Glanbia Ireland Ballyragget, Kilkenny. Glanbia’s Ballyragget plant is the largest multi-purpose integrated dairy plant in Europe, annually, the site processes over 1.0 billion litres of milk!
Our scope of work was based around the preparation of 3 tanks which required power washing, removal of contaminants, tank encapsulation and climatic control, blasting surfaces to SA 2.5, application of Sherwin Williams coating system, test and inspection of prepared surfaces and coating application by Senior Coating inspectors that included soluble salt tests, surface profile tests, dft recordings, monitoring and logging of climatic conditions and low voltage holiday detection.
The production of QA/QC was directly generated through SAM™️.
Robert Dalzell our Project Director managed the project and had the following to say;
“It was clear upon our initial inspection of the tanks in late 2021 there was a requirement to get the tanks back into working order to allow continued production within the Glanbia site. Much of the previously applied coatings failed beyond repair with visible metal thickness reduction so it was necessary to start back from square one.
Initially we made sure the tanks were power washed to remove any moss and break up dirt & debris.
Once complete an initial blast was carried out to SA 2.5 which meant that the surface of the steel tanks was free of visible grease, dirt, scale, rust and paint/coatings.
Soluble salt tests were carried out with all tests revealing very low levels and all well within specified targets.
At this point UT steel thickness checks were carried out in order to highlight any advanced corrosion in the form of localised pitting. Any deep pits were identified for repair by the local welder/fabricator contractors. All defects were either weld filled and grinded flush or had patch plate repairs fitted.
Once the weld defects were addressed a further abrasive blast process was carried out in order to achieve the specified standard.
The coating system selected was Sherwin Williams Dura-Plate™️ 301W epoxy system. With work commencing in mid-January, we knew Dura-Plate™️ 301W would be able to perform and cure in low temperatures if required. Dura-Plate 301W is an anti-corrosive coating for long service life protection of marine and industrial plant assets. It is a surface and moisture tolerant epoxy coating that provides excellent performance in a wide array of applications in both immersion and atmospheric exposures including new construction, conversion, repair, and maintenance overcoat applications.
With the outstanding durability and long-term performance of the selected coating system SPC have been able to guarantee work for a minimum of 10 years provided bi-annual inspection and mechanical damages are identified with any remedial work actioned during the annual out of service filter cleaning maintenance periods.
The tanks house membranes supplied by Kubota (Japan) and is essentially the last to second last stage of effluent treatment prior to discharge from site. Much co-ordination was required between the project team to synchronise the pre-treatment of tanks, mechanical pipework modifications by Top Class Engineering (Try tag Top Class Eng on LinkedIn), upgrade of tanks, and thereafter the installation of the new membranes. Flowrate through each tank approx 75m3/hr.
It was a very tight schedule and absolutely had to be met, or else site start up would have been delayed.
Barrie Hogan, the Prochem Engineering PM, who managed the project on behalf of Glanbia had the following to say; “Due credit must go to Surface for their outstanding work. No stone was left unturned, at every point the team from Surface were most accommodating to allow other necessary works, Robert issued daily reports and pictures so progress tracking was very easy, and all in all we wouldn’t hesitate to use Surface again”.
Particular thanks to the following suppliers for their support throughout the project, Speedy Hire, Paint World, IPC, Hoyne Transport, Haldane Fisher, Advanced Scaffolding NI & First Integrated. “Thanks, must also go to Glanbia Ireland for their business, support and warm welcome whilst on the Ballyragget site.”
Below are some before and after photos to show what can be achieved in a matter of weeks. We look forward to continuing our work with Glanbia to sustain the standard of the 3 tanks over the next number of years. It’s encouraging to see other leading Irish companies invest in their assets to prolong their working life to support Glanbia’s continued production.
If you or your company feel you could benefit from substrate refurbishments or solutions to prevent your assets from corrosion, please do not hesitate to get in touch we offer a wide range of services across multiple industries across the UK & Europe.
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