Fri, 30 August, 2024
Researchers from the Materials Innovation Centre (MatIC) are presenting a number of ground breaking projects at this year’s EUROCORR, the European Federation of Corrosion’s (EFC) annual conference and accompanying exhibition.
The MatIC team members heading to EUROCORR 2024 in Paris, France, from 1 – 5 September, are Centre Director Dr Shiladitya Paul, Marie Curie Research Fellow Dr Kranthi Mariam and University of Leicester and National Structural Integrity Research Centre (NSIRC) student, Ms Adriana Castros Vargas. MatIC, a strategic partnership between the University of Leicester and TWI, was formed in 2016.
EUROCORR is regularly attended by thousands of corrosion experts, working in academia and industry, for its high technical standard and opportunities for professional networking. This year, the programme will include plenary and keynote lectures, oral and poster presentations, and topical workshops, and the exhibition will feature developments in corrosion resistant materials, corrosion monitoring, coatings, inhibitors, cathodic protection and more.
Dr Paul will give a presentation on the FORGE project-based paper ‘Development of Novel Materials and Coatings for Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) Applications,’ during the ‘CO2 corrosion in Industrial Applications’ session of the conference programme. FORGE aims to develop cost-effective, protective coatings that have the necessary chemical stability, hardness and gas barrier properties to make them suitable for use in a range of challenging applications. Together with Dr Paul, the paper has been co-authored by Catherine Leahy, and Drs Amir Shamsa and Dibakor Boruah of TWI, Dr Deepak Sharma of the University of Leicester, Dr Krzysztof Wieczerzak of Empa –Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, and Dr Alvise Bianchin of MBN Nanomaterials.
Dr Mariam will give talks on three different collaborative projects: Sol-Rec2, H2OforALL and INHALE. He will:
- Present the paper ‘Innovative Digital Watermarks and Green Solvents for the Recovery and Recycling of Multilayer Materials’, based on Sol-Rec2, during the ‘Polymers and Advanced Materials’ session. The paper has been co-written by Dr Mariam, Dr Adamantini Loukodimou and Dr Paul of MatIC, and Drs George Theodosopoulos and Chris Lovell of TWI. Sol-Rec2 will develop and implement new ‘green’ solvents than can improve the sorting, separation and recycling of pharmaceutical blister packs and laminate consumer packaging made up of multi-layer polymers and aluminium.
- Share his research on the H2OforALL project, aimed at protecting drinking water from, and treating it against, harmful disinfectant by products, in a presentation titled ‘Titanium Dioxide-Coated Glass Beads: Photocatalytic Degradation and Corrosion Behaviour in Drinking Water with Disinfection By-products’. Dr Kranthi will particularly focus on optimising photocatalytic degradation and corrosion resistance, addressing gaps in understanding of the beads' behaviour in water with natural organic matter and potential applications in water purification technologies.
- Present ‘Innovative Low-Toxicity Electrodeposited Coatings’, looking at the INHALE project. This talk will focus on environmentally responsible alternatives to traditional aqueous solutions, offering insights into non-aqueous halide-free electrolytes that can achieve comparable performance while reducing environmental impact. Dr Mariam will also address key aspects of the project including corrosion resistance, scalability and cost, and contributing to greener electroplating practices.
Ms Vargas will give two talks at EUROCORR. She will present the paper ‘Development of Low Cost, Super-hydrophobic Coatings for Solar Panels’, taking a deep dive into the PowerPath project, during the ‘Durability Issues in Photovoltaic Modules and Solar Energy Systems’ session. The paper has been co-authored by Ms Vargas, Dr Loukodimou and Dr Paul of MatIC. PowerPath targets a new power infrastructure development path for rural Africa, addressing both short-term energy access and long-term sustainable development challenges, and quickly providing basic, affordable energy services to off-grid communities while building the power infrastructure needed for sustainable development in the future.
Ms Vargas will also present some of her PhD work on the ProCoat project: ‘Effect of Flow Velocity on the Corrosion Performance of Thermally Sprayed Aluminium Coating in Synthetic Seawater’ during the ‘Marine Corrosion’ session, examining the varying corrosion rates of TSA-coated steel cylindrical electrodes tested at different rotation speeds.
Visit the EUROCORR 2024 website for full details of proceedings, and be sure to say “hello” to the MatIC team if you are attending the event in person!
MatIC Director, Dr Shiladitya Paul, said “EUROCORR is an important event for the international corrosion science community so we are excited to be sharing several of the Centre’s current projects with fellow attendees. EUROCORR is a dynamic forum for exchanging experiences and expertise, and finding out about new technology developments, so we are pleased to be participating again this year.”