THE PROBLEM
As part of the installation of a new solvent tank the secondary containment bund required a seamless lining that would prevent solvent egress in the event of a leak or spill.
THE SOLUTION
We recommended the application of a highly chemical resistant glass flake reinforced epoxy novalac lining from Chemco International as the most suitable coating system for this project.
Initially the old asphalt tank base was removed using vibration damped breakers prior to the preparation of the concrete using vacuum controlled diamond grinding. This removed surface contaminants and laitance to provide an excellent surface for the new bund lining to adhere to.
Following preparation a cementitious fairing coat was applied to the bund walls to fill blow holes and porosity in the concrete. This is essential when lining concrete bunds, as coatings cannot fill blow holes. By applying this fairing coat a seamless bund lining ensured.
An epoxy resin cove detail was installed at the floor/wall interface as per good bund lining practice. Day joints in the bund walls were isolated using Sika Combilfex elastomeric jointing system. The sump was found to be in a very poor condition so was reconstructed using a high strength epoxy mortar.
The corroded steels in the bund were prepared to ST2 and primed using Corroless EPF rust stabilising epoxy primer.
The bund was then primed throughout using a damp tolerant epoxy primer prior to the application of Chemco RW500. This was applied in two coats of contrasting colour to a dry film thickness of 1000 microns, giving a highly chemical resistant bund lining.