The NACE International Institute (NII), The CORCON Institute of Corrosion (the holding company for NACE in India), and GAIL India, Ltd. (principal sponsor) released the International Measures of Prevention, Application, and Economics of Corrosion Technologies (IMPACT) India Study in New Delhi on February 19, 2019.
The Secretary of the Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals P. Raghavendra Rao and the Secretary Fertilisers Chhabilendra Roul were the chief guests. Other dignitaries included Ashutosh Karnatak, director projects at GAIL India, Ltd.; A.S. Firoz, chief economist, Ministry of Steel; Yatinder Pal Singh Suri, managing director, Outokumpu India; A.K. Tewari, executive director pipelines, Indian Oil Corp., Ltd.; and Anand Mohan, executive director onshore, Oil and Natural Gas Corp., Ltd. (ONGC).
The NACE team was represented by Past President Elaine Bowman, NII Executive Director Helena Seelinger, East Asia and Pacific Area Chair Rolf Gubner, NACE Gateway India Section (NGIS) Trustee Anand Kulkarni, and Past President Samir Degan. The event was attended by more than 100 participants.
The IMPACT India Study is a follow-on to the global study released in March 2016. The effort required participation in surveys across the spectrum of all industries and services, followed by focus group sessions with various stakeholders. This twoyear effort was coordinated by Degan and NGIS Vice Chair Kamachi Mudali, and supported by several members, students, and staff. The focus group sessions were conducted by Bowman and Seelinger during their visits to India in 2017 and 2018.
The IMPACT India Study release function started with a short video clip of the late Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers Ananth Kumar. Kumar was a supporter of the efforts of NACE in corrosion mitigation and prevention, and was a key influencer in initiating this study. His recommendations during his inaugural speech at NGIS’s annual conference CORCON in 2014 highlighted the following:
- Creating awareness on implementing a Corrosion Management System (CMS) across all industrial sectors
- Skills development for personnel required for various corrosion maintenance programs
- Use of global corrosion standards across industrial sectors
- Strategies and recommendations for working with regulators to support efforts in asset integrity from corrosion-related issues
- Discussion on introduction of corrosion-related training at the university level
The video clip was followed by a roundtable discussion on the prevention and mitigation of corrosion chaired by Rao. At the end of the discussions, the IMPACT India report was released by Rao, Roul, and Karnatak.
In his inaugural address, Rao stressed the importance of reducing the cost of corrosion, which would lead to increased productivity, safety, and increase the country’s Gross Domestic Product. He stated that “corrosion has a huge economic and environmental impact on virtually all facets of the world’s infrastructure, from highways, bridges, and buildings to oil and gas, chemical processing, water and wastewater systems, and particularly industrial structures.” He assured full support from his ministry for NACE’s efforts.
Roul stated that “corrosion and poor maintenance were one of the major causes of toxic gas leaks in the Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal. In addition to causing severe damage and a threat to public safety, corrosion disrupts operations and requires extensive repair and replacement of failed assets. The regular corrosion audits, which include inspecting the corrosion sites, analyzing the reasons for corrosion, suggesting methods of prevention, and doing the cost analysis of prevention and losses due to corrosion will help in the long run in terms of increased safety, performance, asset life, environment protection, and more cost-effective operations.”
“Controlling corrosion requires recognition at the design and construction stage of assets and is more rewarding in the long run in terms of increased safety, performance, asset life, environmental protection, and more cost-effective operations,” Karnatak says. “Unfortunately, this problem is not recognized at the early stages and thus leads to considerable maintenance costs during the life of the asset.”
“Calculating direct costs like unplanned shutdowns and early equipment failure is relatively easy,” says Firoz. “However, one must look into the issue in a more holistic manner, like the cradle-to-grave concept of sustainability, which would provide more insight into the adverse effects of a corrosion incident to the local economy, which affects the livelihood of the local populace.”
“Engineers are ethically responsible for managing corrosion. While corrosion control methods are applied in the industry, it is as important to educate engineering undergraduates on aspects of corrosion and its management,” says Seelinger. “However, there is little awareness on corrosion among undergraduate students. The engineering curriculum should include corrosion at the graduate level.”
Several of the attendees and panelists contributed to the discussions, including experts from Indian Oil, Engineers India, ONGC, GAIL, and Welspun.
Source: NACE International Institute, www.naceinstitute.org.