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Coating to protect concrete tank that contains Aluminium Sulphate or Poly Aluminium Chloride

May 13, 2008

We have water treatment plants at two locations where at one location Aluminium Sulphate (Alumina) has to be mixed with water; and the other location Poly Aluminium Chloride has to be mixed with water. The mixing tanks are constructed in concrete with ordinary portland cement concrete. The temperature of environment varies from 25 c to 40 c. Recently I found the problem that the walls of tanks are eroded and the concrete surface is wearing out little by little. in some locations it went up to wall steel reinforcement.

What can be the remedial measure to protect the erosion of concrete tank?

Ismalebbe Jawahir
Employee - Sri Lanka

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There is no good answer other than a new tank.

There are vinyls that you can coat the tank with, but I think that there will be places that it will not stick well.

You could use a spray fiberglass application with a chopper gun and then put a gel coat or a veil coat with a gel coat on that.

I do not know if it is available in your area, but there are "epoxy" type materials that are troweled on like plaster and then coated with an appropriate polyester or polyurethane spray coat(s).

WARNING! all of these applications require an external breathing apparatus. There is a very high probability of a fatality or permanent injury when you do this work in an enclosed area or tank.

James Watts
- Navarre, Florida
May 15, 2008