The direct cost of metallic corrosion in the U.S. alone is estimated at $300 billion (USD) per year by CC Technologies Laboratories Inc. (Dublin, Ohio) with support from NACE International (National Association of Corrosion Engineers, Houston, Texas). Every economic sector has significant corrosion costs, including water and sewer piping systems, highways and bridges, electrical utilities and industrial plants. Corrosion-resistant composites are ideally suited to replace metal structures. In the case of fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) used to replace expensive stainless steel and high-nickel alloy scrubbers and chimneys (called stacks) that remove sulfur dioxide (SO₂) from flue gas emissions in coal-burning plants, demand is exceeding supply as coal-burning power plants in the U.S. push toward compliance with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR). CAIR calls for a reduction in emissions of 70 percent by 2015. An innovative new technology for stack construction in volves computer-controlled, stationary vertical winding equipment that can field-wind preprogrammed sections of a stack around a rotating mold. Winding systems are available for tanks up to 124-ft/38m in diameter, according to

Robert Brady of engineering consultancy The Brady Group (Portland, Ore.). As each section is wound, it is jacked up above the mold to permit the next section to be wound using the same mold. This “jack-and-wind” process can be repeated until the stack reaches its design height — in some cases, more than 500 ft/152m. Another solution is an all-composite cooling tower concept made with tongue-in-groove panels, pultruded beams and a unique fastening system. Developed by Creative Pultrusions (Alum Bank, Pa.), the tower systems not only resist corrosion but also hurricane-force winds.

Cured-in-place pipe (CIPP) is a burgeoning rehabilitation technology that enables repair of deteriorating underground water/wastewater pipelines without excavation. Historically, CIPP processes use tubular resin-impregnated nonwoven glass/polyester or other fibrous mat that is pushed (via water pressure) or pulled through damaged pipe, inflated, then heat-cured, typically with hot water or steam. The CIPP sleeve adheres to the inside surface of the host pipe, forming a tough, seamless, corrosion-resistant liner. Ultraviolet (UV)-curable CIPP liner technology, developed in Europe and now gaining attention in the U.S., eliminates the need for hot water or steam cure and the equipment necessary to heat it, and ends concern about the presence of styrenated water in the flow media following cure. International Pipe Lining Technologies (IPL, San Diego, Calif.) and Reline America (Saltville, Va.) offer UV-curable liners in diameters up to 48 inches/1.2m. The lining systems rely on stitch-bonded, light transparent fiberglass fabric wet out with resin formulated for ultraviolet (UV) cure. Cure is effected by a UV light “train” — a collection of UV lamps on a wheeled device — which is pulled through the pre-impregnated CIPP at a speed calculated to provide UV energy at an intensity and exposure duration sufficient to completely through-cure the laminate.