Aotec, a Belgium-based industrial coating company with a major global presence, has launched its revolutionary product, Humidur Char, a two-component, solvent-free, 100 per cent solids, polyamine cured epoxy PFP system, which offers anti-corrosion and fire resistance properties by intumescent action in just one coat compared to the traditional PFP coating process that requires up to five coats.

Developed by Acotec, Humidur Char has been thoroughly tested and received Type Approval from classification society DNV ahead of its launch.

It has also passed an extensive test programme and provides protection against (high heat flux) jet fires, pool fires and can resist gas explosions, said the Belgian company.

Acotec pointed out that another key benefit of Humidur Char was that it could be applied in one layer on minimum preparation standards, with no primer nor mesh required and would still provide the essential Passive Fire Protection on the structural steel, used within the global oil, gas and chemical industry.

Not only does this revolutionary coating enable improved cost management, moreover it significantly reduces the manhours up to 50 per cent, it added.

Also, no primer and no mesh nor any other kind of reinforcement is required for this coating, which provides increased safety during application as no solvents are being used. Thanks to its unique properties and straightforward application, Humidur Char significantly reduces the overall project cost without compromising the safety on board: reduced asset downtime; reduced manhours; reduced machinery & equipment cost.

CEO Wim Schalley said: “Partners in the oil and gas industry approached Acotec because they wanted a new innovative PFP coating that would reduce the downtime of their assets. Besides that, the new PFP coating must be efficient and easy to apply. Acotec took on the challenge and started to develop the revolutionary PFP coating.”

“After extensive testing, Humidur Char was born. It is currently being applied both onshore and offshore assets, and as such has led to a significant reduction in manhours and hence overall project costs. Yes, Humidur Char is a revolutionary one-coat solution. Our Humidur Char’s slogan is simple and straight forward: ‘Let’s face fire in one coat',” he noted.

“Extremely easy to apply, Humidur Char can be trowelled or sprayed straight onto the structural component, which does not need to be grit blasted. Spray application can be conducted with standard plural pumps, so no expensive and complicated specialised PFP pumps are required,” he added.

With a wide application window in terms of humidity (max. 95 per cent), Humidur Char can be applied at any location all over the world. In addition, the unlimited overcoating window and wet-on-wet application provide unique flexibility to the applicator.

“By combining PFP properties with Humidur we have access to a world-class, all-in-one, single-product system that meets the highest industry testing and qualification criteria,” remarked Woodside Corrosion Technology Specialist Travis Baensch.

“Humidur Char carries over all the benefits from the traditional Humidur product range while simultaneously reducing the need for additional PFP layers and materials like reinforcing mesh, thus substantially reducing the cost and time for preparation and application,” he added.

According to the company, Humidur Char has been successfully tested in Jet Fire and Pool Fires and even Gas Explosions and High Heat Flux Jet Fires. All steel test beams underwent optimal and minimal surface preparation and had Humidur Char applied directly to the steel, without the use of a primer or reinforcing mesh. The test results showed that there was no difference in fire protection properties between optimal and minimal surface preparation, which has been formally confirmed by DNV. It is a result that promises to shake up the entire industry.

Typically, a traditional PFP coating requires lots of preparation including the blasting of the steel and numerous coats of paint: primer, PFP coat, mesh, PFP coat again, and then the topcoat. All this is completely unnecessary with Humidur Char, as it is a single-layer system: no optimal surface preparation, no primer, no mesh, and no waiting between layers, the company said.