Blasted & Coated An Intake Canal at a Power Generation Plant

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Blasted & Coated An Intake Canal at a Power Generation Plant

With our decades of experience in the power generation industry, a customer in Delaware contracted with Pumpcoat to restore a 1,500 foot long, 79,140 sq-ft intake canal located in the waterway adjacent to their power plant. This project was large and its location over a moving body of water presented a number of logistical challenges. We had to build special floats and scaffolding to facilitate safe access to all areas of the canal, as well as utilize strategically placed tarps to collect the blast debris and prevent it from entering and contaminating the water. All workers were also required to wear life jackets over their protective clothing as an additional safety precaution.

Once the site was secure, initial surface prep consisted of using a 5,000 psi pressure washer to remove all loose rust, grease, oil, and dirt. When the weather suddenly turned severely cold, the water blast began turning to ice, so our resourceful field workers built temporary containments to house heaters to warm the area so they could continue working. We then chip and needle gunned all areas to remove any trace of rust, and made repairs to the severely damaged sections. After inspecting and repairing the piping and supports, all surfaces were cleaned with a strong detergent to remove salt and residual oils, rinsed with fresh water, and air dried with clean, moisture-and oil-free air. We completed the job by applying 3 coats of a high-performance, organic zinc-rich coating that met the strict VOC requirements for industrial maintenance applications.

No matter how complex and daunting the project, the ingenuity of the Pumpcoat team can bring it to a successful conclusion. For more information about this project, or to discuss your unique industrial maintenance requirements, contact us today.

Highlights of this Intake Canal Coating Project

Product Description

An intake canal is a canal that lets water flow in from an outside source (like a river or harbor) into the power plant to cool systems down.

Capabilities Applied/Processes

Primary:
Coating - Zinc Base, and Tar Top Coat
Surface Preparation

Pressure Washing - 5000 psi Pressure Washer
Chip and Needle Gunned and Grinding
Masking of Critical Areas

Secondary:
Area Inspection

Piping and Electrical

Overall Dimensions

1,500 feet long, 79,140 square feet.

Safety

Scaffolding:
All Areas to be painted are to be scaffolded. The scaffolding is to be erected and checked by a competent person.

Containment:
75% Tarps to be erected to contain removed materials such as paint chips and rust.

Initial Surface Prep

All surfaces to be cleaned by 5000 psi pressure washer with oscillating water blast tip. Surface to be free of loose rust, grease, oil and dirt.

Inspections

Pipe and pipe supports to be inspected and repaired prior to final paint surface prep.

All Severely Rusted areas with sharp edges to be repaired and/or ground smooth.

Cleaning Process

Areas are to be chip and needle gunned and ground to remove all loose rust.

Areas are to be re-blasted at 5000 psi and a final cleaning with a strong detergent to remove salt and residual oil/grease

Area to be rinsed with fresh water and then air dried with clean moisture and oil free air.

Coating Used

1st Coat: 2 mil Wasser MC-Zinc 100
2nd Coat: 2 mil Wasser MC-Zinc 100
3rd Coat: 8 mil Wasser MC-Tar 100

Project Difficulties

Due to it being a canal, there is no way to empty it. Our workers built large floats and scaffolding to work off of.

The metal siding on the canal was corroded and rusted, but because of environmental concerns, you cannot just blast the rust and let it get into the water, tarps had to be spread out beneath the blast area to collect the debris.

Also, because of the severely cold weather, the water blasting used to prep the metal siding was literally turning to ice. Our field workers ended up building containments (sort of like large tents) and running heaters to warm up the areas so they could continue working.

Industry for Use

Power Generation

Delivery/Turnaround Time

4 - 6 Weeks

Delivery Location

Delaware

Standards Met

Customer Specifications

Product Name

Blasting and Coating an Intake Canal