Painting & Coating Industry (PCI) logo Powder coating summit logo
search
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Painting & Coating Industry (PCI) logo Powder coating summit logo
  • NEWS
    • Latest News
    • Market Trends & Reports
    • Price Alerts
    • Subscribe to eNewsletters
    • Global Top 10/ PCI 25
    • Weekly Featured Article
    • COATLE Word Game
  • PRODUCTS
    • Product News
    • Must See Products and Services
  • MATERIALS
    • Additives
    • Resins/Polymers
    • Pigments
    • Equipment
    • Distributors
  • TECHNOLOGIES
    • Adhesives
    • Architectural Coatings
    • Industrial Coatings
    • Nanotechnology
    • Powder Coatings
    • Solventborne
    • Special Purpose Coatings
    • Sustainability
    • UV Coatings
    • Waterborne
    • FINISHING
      • Finishing News
      • Finishing Technologies
      • Finishing Equipment
    • RESOURCES
      • Columns
        • Ask Joe Powder
        • Did you know?
        • Distribution Dive
        • Focus on Canada
        • Formulating With Mike
        • Innovation Insights
        • Moody's Coatings Conundrums
        • Powder Coating Perspectives
        • Target the Market
        • TiO2 Insider
      • Blogs
        • Editor's Viewpoint
        • Industry Insights
      • Coatings Supplier Handbook
      • Podcasts and Videos
        • COAT-IT! Podcast
        • Videos/PCI TV
      • PCI Store
      • eBooks
      • Sponsor Insights
      • White Papers
      • COATLE Word Game
    • EVENTS
      • Coatings Trends & Technologies Summit
      • Paint and Coatings Academy
      • Webinars
      • Calendar of Events
      • Lifetime Achievement Award
    • DIRECTORIES
      • Buyer's Guide
      • Equipment Directory
      • Materials Directory
    • EMAGAZINE
      • Current Issue
      • eMagazine Archive
      • China Issue Archive
      • Editorial Advisory Board
    • CONTACT
      • Contact Us
      • Advertise
      • Subscribe to eMagazine
      • Subscribe to eNewsletters
    Industry News

    Researchers Develop Superhydrophobic Coating and Application Process for Subsea Applications

    coatings for pipes, hydrophobic coatings
    June 8, 2018

    SAN ANTONIO, TX — Materials scientists at Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) have developed a superhydrophobic coating and a process for applying it to the internal surfaces of long tubular structures. The technology primarily is designed to mitigate or prevent hydrates and other deposits from adhering to subsea pipelines.

    Hydrates are ice-like solids composed of water and a gas, typically methane or carbon dioxide. Hydrates have a density close to that of ice and can look like slushy ice. However, the gas molecules contained in hydrates stabilize the crystals and allow hydrates — unlike ice — to form at temperatures as high as 70 °F in hydrocarbon systems such as production-stream flow lines. Hydrates can deposit on the pipe’s inner wall and collect until they completely block the flow line and stop the transport of hydrocarbons to the processing facility.

    Currently, hydrate formation is prevented using either chemical additives or physical methods such as heating jackets or high-frequency electromagnetic fields, any one of which adds expense and engineering complexity. Futhermore, when these methods fail, removing hydrate plugs can be costly.

    In deep petroleum wells, paraffin and asphaltene components in the oil also can deposit on the pipe’s inner wall and impede product flow from the well, necessitating costly prevention and remediation measures.

    “We’ve developed a family of coatings and a process technology named Lotus, a reference to the lotus flower, which has similar superhydrophobic properties,” said Institute Scientist Dr. Michael Miller. “We produce these coatings using a vacuum process in which a plasma — a state of matter consisting of free electrons plus ionized atoms and molecules — is ignited inside the entire length of the pipe, while introducing one or more chemicals. The process selectively fragments the chemicals into ions that are then accelerated onto the pipe surface where they immediately undergo polymerization to form a thin, glass-like, durable coating,” he added.

    SwRI’s Lotus family of coatings is unique in that their surface properties, such as surface energy or tension, can be tailored chemically to prevent different kinds of deposits from adhering to the pipe’s interior.

    Under an exclusive licensing and technology transfer agreement, the Lotus coating technology is being transitioned to an energy services company for full-scale production of coated pipe so that the sponsoring client can further demonstrate its performance in deep offshore well applications.

    “Construction of a high-throughput coating facility specifically for the Lotus coating technology is underway. It will eventually provide sufficient production capacity to meet the needs of other customers in the oil and gas industry,” Miller added.

    KEYWORDS: pipeline coatings Research and Development

    Share This Story

    Looking for a reprint of this article?
    From high-res PDFs to custom plaques, order your copy today!

    Recommended Content

    JOIN TODAY
    to unlock your recommendations.

    Already have an account? Sign In

    • PCI-0724-Global10-Feature-1440.png

      2024 Global Top 10: Top Paint and Coatings Companies

      Who ranks on top? PCI’s annual ranking of the top 10...
      Global Top 10 and PCI 25
      By: Courtney Bassett
    • PCI-0724-PCI25-Feature-1440.png

      2024 PCI 25: Top Paint and Coatings Companies

      PCI's annual ranking of the top 25 North American paint...
      Global Top 10 and PCI 25
      By: Courtney Bassett
    • pci1022-Kinaltek-Lead-1170.jpg

      A Novel Pigment Production Technology

      Following an extensive R&D program that demonstrated...
      Paint and Coating Pigments
      By: Jawad Haidar and Nitin Soni
    You must login or register in order to post a comment.

    Report Abusive Comment

    Subscribe For Free!
    • eMagazine
    • eNewsletter
    • Online Registration
    • Subscription Customer Service

    More Videos

    Sponsored Content

    Sponsored Content is a special paid section where industry companies provide high quality, objective, non-commercial content around topics of interest to the PCI audience. All Sponsored Content is supplied by the advertising company and any opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily reflect the views of PCI or its parent company, BNP Media. Interested in participating in our Sponsored Content section? Contact your local rep!

    close
    • paint sprayer in a workshop
      Sponsored byallnex

      Enabling Performance and Compliance: allnex Introduces a New Line of VOC Exempt Solvent-Borne Resins

    • various shades of orange pigments and colorants
      Sponsored byVibrantz Technologies

      Solid Colorant Technology Paves the Way for a Sustainable, High-Performance Future in Coatings

    Popular Stories

    A collage of products using non-PFAS

    A Surge in Non-PFAS Releases

    Sherwin-Williams Provides Project and Community Impact Updates

    Sherwin-Williams Steady Amid Mixed Market Signals

    Default Aerospace Image

    PPG Plans Major Aerospace Facility



    PCI Buyers Guide

    Submit a Request for Proposal (RFP) to suppliers of your choice with details on what you need with a click of a button

    Start your RFP

    Browse our Buyers Guide for manufacturers and distributors of all types of coatings products and much more!

    Find Suppliers

    Events

    January 1, 2030

    Webinar Sponsorship Information

    For webinar sponsorship information, visit www.bnpevents.com/webinars or email webinars@bnpmedia.com.

    View All Submit An Event

    Poll

    Longest-running laboratory experiment

    What is the longest-running laboratory experiment?
    View Results Poll Archive

    Products

    Automotive Paints and Coatings, 2nd Edition

    Automotive Paints and Coatings, 2nd Edition

    Now in its second edition and still the only book of its kind, this is an authoritative treatment of all stages of the coating process.

    See More Products
    pci  webinar april 2025

    PCI CASE EBOOK

    Related Articles

    • Finished Products

      Naval Researchers Develop New Coating for Shipboard Applications

      See More
    • Engineers at The Australian National University

      Scientists in Australia Develop Robust Superhydrophobic Coating

      See More
    • Photo of Yury Perevalov

      Researchers in Russia Develop Digital System to Facilitate Energy-Efficient Application of Anti-Corrosion Coatings

      See More

    Related Products

    See More Products
    • princ-&-apps-of-emulsion-po

      Principles and Applications of Emulsion Polymerization

    • smart coatings.jpg

      Smart Coatings Fundamentals, Developments, and Applications

    • polymer coatings.jpg

      Polymer Coatings: Technologies and Applications

    See More Products
    ×

    Keep the info flowing with our eNewsletters!

    Get the latest industry updates tailored your way.

    JOIN TODAY!
    • RESOURCES
      • Advertise
      • Contact Us
      • Directories
      • Store
      • Want More
    • SIGN UP TODAY
      • Create Account
      • eMagazine
      • eNewsletters
      • Customer Service
      • Manage Preferences
    • SERVICES
      • Marketing Services
      • Reprints
      • Market Research
      • List Rental
      • Survey & Sample
    • STAY CONNECTED
      • LinkedIn
      • Facebook
      • Youtube
      • X (Twitter)
    • PRIVACY
      • PRIVACY POLICY
      • TERMS & CONDITIONS
      • DO NOT SELL MY PERSONAL INFORMATION
      • PRIVACY REQUEST
      • ACCESSIBILITY

    Copyright ©2025. All Rights Reserved BNP Media.

    Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing