Reno, NV -- (ReleaseWire) -- 03/09/2015 --A veggie-plastic coating that has an affinity to bond instantly with wood and other cellulosic materials, could radically extend the life of giant wooden water pipes, says Peter Roosen, CEO, Castagra Products, Inc.
"We're living in a hyper-active technology age, but some things have just weathered on through the ages because they are simple and low tech, and wood is about as low tech as it gets when it's a water or sewer pipe.
"Remarkably, there are several giant wood stave water pipes out there today throughout North America still handling vast quantities of water, still performing as well, and often better than more modern cement and steel pipes."
The earliest pipes were probably made of bamboo, used by the Chinese to carry water c.5000 B.C. Wood pipe was used at a very early date in the natural gas industry. In the 1700s wood piping was used in the Appalachian Basin to send gas, and in 1821 gas from an excavated gas spring on Canadaway Creek in Fredonia, New York was sent in a wood pipes. Wooden pipes were used in London and elsewhere during the 16th and 17th centuries. The pipes were hollowed-out logs.
Roosen said what is not well known, is that if wooden pipes are kept wet and protected from the sun's UV rays, they will last almost indefinitely for all practical purposes.
"Now, that's the one major weakness they have if on the surface like is the case for some US water utilities with wood flume outlets on mountain sides. The harsh UV during the summer is wood's worst enemy. As we all know unprotected wood siding on sheds and homes rapidly goes grey and deteriorates," commented Roosen. "It is also important to ensure any penetrants and coatings allow the wood to have some breathability to avoid having the wood rot from within the wood itself."
The conventional industrial treatment for wood has been creosote, with railroad track ties being a classic example. But, today, creosote gets a bad rap for its carcinogenic potential and it eventually loses its protective qualities through rain, and sun attack.
"We can definitely jump in there with our non-VOC, non-toxic Ecodur. Aside from its extraordinarily tenacious grip through its actually bonding with the wood, our tests on 50-year-old creosoted wood, have shown no difference in the protective quality compared to untreated wood coated with Ecodur. We have been coating wooden boats and ships for over 25 years with excellent results. In addition to abnormally excellent adhesion, our coating products have great flexibility allowing it to shrink and expand along with the wood fiber. There can be 1 to 2 per cent shrinkage and expansion in wood as internal moisture levels vary.
"With nearly a quarter of a century of harsh ship deck performance on steel and wood, we believe its performance on exposed and buried wood pipes will be as good and give them a much extended life and to the steel banding that supports them in the case of water flumes."
Roosen said the veggie-plastic has proven to be outstandingly robust against UV and makes an ideal coating for oriented wood strand supports. "For all practical purposes, it has an indefinite lifespan as a protective coating for wood when not subjected to abrasion, largely because of the molecular bond created."
About Castagra Products Inc.
Castagra Products Inc., which has its headquarters in Reno, Nevada, has toll production facilities in Haslett and Houston in Texas. It is focussed on providing ultra-protective VOC-free, BPA-free, non-toxic coatings for the oil and gas industries' storage tanks and pipes, particularly the fracking industry where maximum corrosion protection is required.