BioPad, a unique “green” technology flexible corrosion inhibiting device constructed from biobased non-woven material, provides a sustainable packaging option for corrosion inhibition.

Its high VpCI concentration, in combination with a thin design, results in material reduction by up to 94 per cent in comparison to similar polyurethane foam emitting devices, said a statement from Cortec.

This powerful USDA certified biobased product provides up to two times as much corrosion inhibiting action as its conventional VCI counterpart. BioPad is cost-effective, adaptable, and easily applied. Simply placing it into your package will allow metal items to be protected while leaving them ready for use.

BioPad is excellent for protection of ferrous and non-ferrous metals as well as various alloys: galvanized and carbon steels, copper, brass, aluminum, zinc, etc. It is free of nitrites and chromates, it said.

BioPad: cost effective option

Protecting Ship Engines

For years, a major marine engine manufacturer has used Cortec VpCI to protect the externals of massive ship engines and motor shafts being stored outdoors near the sea for 12 months awaiting shipment. They conducted a test to see if they could use BioPad to protect the internals of the engines from corrosion. They hung one BioPad inside each of three different engine voids for six months of outdoor testing. The test was successful as there were no traces of corrosion, and the manufacturer decided to use BioPad. Other advantages of using BioPad were that it contained renewable materials derived from corn-processing byproducts. It had a lighter smell and protected more than twice as much space per sq m than the competitor’s product, making it a far more cost-effective option. The engine manufacturer ended up ordering 7,000 sheets of BioPad in order to protect 150 engines per year.    

HIGH Voltage Interrupters

A global engineering services company had been using locally made VCI foam inside vacuum-packed 6-mil (150 µ) competitor VCI bags (yellow film) for export of high voltage interrupters to India, China, the US, and Europe (as well as domestic shipment inside India).

  They were facing issues with rust on parts, along with the consequent rejections and rework this required, and wanted a complete dry packaging solution with zero rust. Cortec Corrosion Solutions India recommended using 6-mil (150 µ) VpCI-126 Bags and BioPad inserts without vacuum packing. The customer began a cautious evaluation process, performing their own modified versions of VIA and Razor Blade Testing on VpCI-126 Film in their lab and finding it to be successful. They undertook three field trials that involved export to China with good results. This was followed by their trial order of BioPad pads and custom-size rolls of Cortec’s VpCI-126 Blue corrosion protection film.

The customer was very satisfied and has not only implemented this Cortec dry packing solution for regular production and export of high voltage interrupters to all countries but has also extended the same packaging solutions to their vendors, the statement said.

BioPad conforms to NACE Standards TM0208-2008 and RP0487-2000, as well as MIL-I-22110C.