Sparc and Santos to trial ecosparc at gas and liquids hub

Technology development company Sparc Technologies has signed a trial agreement with energy company Santos to trial the company's graphene enhanced protective coatings.

Sparc and Santos will conduct a collaborative field trial with the application of an ecosparc enhanced coating at the Santos gas facility Port Bonython in the Upper Spencer Gulf of South Australia (pictured).

The results of the field trial will be used to assess ecosparc enhanced coatings for inclusion on Santos’ coatings specification which, if successful, would allow their use by Santos on commercial projects.

Sparc Managing Director Nick O’Loughlin said: “The trial is being established with a view to specifying ecosparc enhanced coatings which would allow for commercial use.

“This is a key step towards commercialising ecosparc and we thank Santos for the innovative approach they have shown by supporting this trial.”

ecosparc is under test with the South Australian Department for Infrastructure and Transport, including coatings applied to steel piles for the department’s Streaky Bay Jetty remediation project.

Santos operates a gas fractionation plant and deep water export jetty at Port Bonython, with the conditions highly corrosive and an ideal use case for ecosparc enhanced coatings, according to Sparc.

“The field trial will provide valuable performance data, building on over five years of research and development and more than 10,000 data points from accelerated cyclic corrosion testing conducted by Sparc.

“Importantly, this agreement underscores growing market interest from key industry players for superior anticorrosive coatings.”

Further reading:
Sparc Technologies ecosparc tested on marine infrastructure

Picture: Sparc Technologies/Port Bonython