Centre plans to set up National Bureau of Corrosion Control

Taking a serious note on corrosion and the loss to the economy caused from that chemical process, the central government is planning to set up a National Bureau for Corrosion Control, said a senior official.

"We have proposed to set up a National Bureau of Corrosion Control on the lines of Bureau of Energy Conservation," said Surjit Kumar Chaudhary, secretary, department of chemicals and petrochemicals.

"This is part of the proposed National Chemical Policy. Approval to the new National Chemical Policy is in the final stages."

He was speaking at the three-day CORCON 2015 an international conference on corrosion that got started here on Thursday.

Chaudhary said corrosion control was part of the strategic and commercial dialogue with the US.

He said consumption of chemicals was one of the indicators of developed society.

"In India, the per capita consumption of chemicals is less than nine kg. But the consumption is on the rise. In the advanced countries, the per capita consumption of chemicals is around 120 kg," Chaudhary said.

NITI Aayog member V.K. Saraswat said there was good understanding of corrosion science.

The former secretary, department of defence research and development and head of the Defence Research Development Organisation, said the country may not have the necessary equipments to protect the metal surface against corrosion.

He also spoke about the anti-corrosion coatings and other measures taken while building various missiles and other defence equipments.

According to Saraswat, in defence and aerospace sectors, there was a need to improve the performance of the machines at high temperature environment.

He said anti-corrosive coatings were also applied on surgical implants in human bodies.

Pointing out the lack of awareness about corrosion and its impact among the people, B. Narayan, group president-procurement and projects, Reliance Industries Ltd., cited the marine industry where anti-corrosion measures were forced to be done indirectly.

He said a marine vessel would be de-classified if proper anti-corrosion measures are not taken.

If a vessel is de-classified, then it may not get insurance coverage.

He said the corrosion control as a subject should be introduced at school level.

Rajiv Mittal, managing director and group CEO VA Tech Wabag Ltd., spoke about the types of corrosion at desalination and sewage treatment plants.