Corrosion in agricultural industry

The agricultural industry typically falls under a low corrosive environment, unless we talk about the production plants for fertilizers.

For other equipment such as pumps, pipes, and fixtures used in the farms and fields, corrosion is critical only when there is a failure that causes leakage of water or stops the water flow entirely.

Further, the relatively cleaner air with minimal contaminants results in delayed external corrosion.

In this article, I will show two photos that will present how the corrosion in a field progresses.

The first picture on the left was captured in January 2024 and the second one in August 2024.

The pump part was already in the process of corrosion. Over the period of 7 months, the coating to the right of the fixture peeled off completely. This included more than 5 months of summer and 2 months of rainfall.

The second part observed was a valve.

The valve itself shows a darker shade in the August image on the right. Further, the coating in the pipe section connected to the vertical pipe in the January image was not intact. It shows mild blistering exactly at the circumference of the connections. The coating peeled off in the section after 7 months, as shown in the red circle.

These images show that while the corrosion may be delayed as compared with the other industries, it can still substantially affect the operations in the farms. Especially during summer, when the water supply is intermittent, the equipment must work at required times to prevent any drying or damage to the crops.

Hence, it is critical that the coatings used for the external corrosion protection of pump parts must have abrasion resistance. This will ensure that they are resistant to corrosion as well as to the dust and soil particles flowing through the coating.

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