Spray Technology: Global Approval and Use.

The ‘Holy Grail’ of industrial coating protection has been a trinity of sprayability, longevity and the absence of toxic vapors emitted by solvents and resins.

To put it bluntly, solvent disposal is a major, global problem. Not only is it an exposure issue for operators, it’s also a huge expense to get rid of it.

Solvent disposal is now a multi billion dollar industry with environmental agencies switching focus heavily to prevention policies with regulations around solvent use increasing dramatically and forcing up costs all around.

Castagra’s coatings for the oil and gas industries do not use Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) either in content, application, or clean up of the company’s unique spray equipment. They are also BPA-free.

These ‘biosafe’, Class A fire retardant, highly durable, protective, natural plastic coatings can be sprayed easily, even on vertical surfaces, without any risk to applicators wearing basic eye and nose protection.

Castagra’s patent pending solvent-free spray system mixes the components right near the tip of the spray gun in a novel way that only requires a simple metal router to clean the nozzle when spraying pauses or is ended.

The system and method works so well that much higher percentages of gypsum can be successfully sprayed or dispensed through mould filling wands and nozzles.

Importantly, there is no need to closely match viscosities or pressures as in other systems. Similarly, the ratios of the plural component parts A,B, etc. do not need to be matched to the standard 1:1, 1.5:1, 2:1, 3:1 or maximum 4:1 ratios used in current competing equipment offerings. This means Castagra can maximize the coatings efficacy by spraying it in accordance with its best formulation.

The design also allows for very fast cure rates in a matter of a few seconds, which leads to greater profits for applicators and less operational downtime for customers.
The equipment is compact, easy to use, and can apply protective coatings, fill moulds, make panels and complete an assortment of other tasks with relative ease compared to traditional solvent purge systems.

This is an important development that will ultimately enable broader usage of Castagra’s products in other field and factory applications.

Castagra’s oil and gas industry coating technology has a 20-year antecedent pedigree, including an ANSI/NSF 61 rating for potable water container use, and a proven ability to outlast conventional coatings by a wide margin.

They are also approved by the biggest oil services companies in the world, and, most specifically, for the burgeoning frac tank market where ‘cocktails’ of fracking chemicals have produced new challenges to protecting steel.

Conventional epoxies have been failing in frac use, particularly with some of the more exotic solvents and acids such as formic. Castagra will continue to develop additional coatings as the industry seeks additional protection for other tank contents in fracking.

"Over the course of the last year our research and testing of the product line Ecodur 201 has revealed that this product line is not just a better version of the current comparable systems, but in fact this product is inherently different in nature and is what we truly believe to be a generational leap forward in zero VOC, environmentally friendly coating and insulation technology." Jeremy McNabb, Owner Kymax Coatings Ltd.