March 06, 2025 [Oil Review]- Sherwin-Williams has launched the Heat-Flex Advanced Energy Barrier which tackles corrosion under insulation (CUI)

CUI occurs due to moisture present on the external surface of insulated equipment and is prevalent in the onshore and offshore oil and gas industries, constituting a threat to assets, personnel and the environment.

The new coating replaces the bulky mineral-based insulation traditionally used on storage tanks, process vessels and piping to retain process heat. It works by building a thick film of insulative coating material onto assets that are required to maintain operating temperatures up to 350°F (177°C), with excursions to 400°F (204°C). This coating retains process heat inside coated assets, allowing them to continue operating even in extreme environments. It effectively rivals the in-service insulative capabilities of traditional insulation systems due to their tendency to absorb and trap moisture that infiltrates their exterior cladding. This moisture not only dramatically reduces the insulating capacity of the insulation, but also contributes to the acceleration of CUI.

“When developing Heat-Flex AEB, we needed to ensure the coating itself could retain process heat at temperatures high enough to remove traditional insulation and not affect the consistency and flow of materials housed inside assets,” says Erik Dammen-Brower, R&D chemist II for Sherwin-Williams Protective & Marine. “Careful manipulation of the coating molecule and product formulation enabled this surprising capability, which has notable ramifications for reducing costs and improving carbon footprints, while enabling efficiencies in various facility applications.”

The thermal insulative coating also offers sustainability benefits. Using just the insulative coating eliminates the manufacturing, shipping and storage of all the materials required for a traditional system. In addition, because Heat-Flex AEB eliminates CUI, steel assets will last far longer before any steel needs to be replaced, if at all, minimising the environmental costs of steel production to maintain an asset. Finally, the consistent thermal efficiency Heat-Flex AEB offers allows asset owners to maintain required operating temperatures without needing to increase process heat inside the coated asset.

In a typical CUI-elimination coating system, a primer is applied directly to prepared steel to protect it from corrosion, with the Heat-Flex AEB insulative coating on top of that and an optional topcoat layer.

Applying Heat-Flex AEB is also much easier, faster and safer to apply than installing bulky insulation systems over assets, the company says.