The Seoul Waterworks Research Institute has developed a new technology to prevent stainless steel corrosion. This new technology took four years of research to develop and will be applicable for use on the global market. The institute has already applied for a patent of the technology and will soon begin a research project for commercialization with POSCO.
Using a nitric and hydrofluoric acid-based protective coating, the technology is proven to delay corrosion on welded parts of stainless steel pipes used for drinking water transport. If, later on, the technology is widely adopted, city authorities will no longer have to apply the coat to the welded parts in regular intervals.
In addition to steel pipes, water mains made of concrete walls will also benefit because the walls must be coated once every year in order to prevent corrosion caused from chlorine in the water. Since 2010, the institute has conducted experiments by putting more than 1,000 chlorine-tainted steel pipe pieces in filtration plants and water reservoirs. It evaluated the bio-safety of water storage tanks made of different materials such as concrete, epoxy-coated concrete and stainless steel-coated concrete. Out of these, the institute discovered that the stainless steel-coated concrete was the most sanitary as it kept water slime from forming.