Evaluation of polymeric coatings on their efficiency of inhibiting the adhesion of inorganic scale

Abstract

The use of polymer coatings allows modulating wettability and can contribute decisively to mitigate the formation of scale in pipes and equipment. In this work critical surface energy (CSE) and surface free energy (SFE) were determined for several polymer coatings (epoxy phenol novolac resins and fluoropolymers), aiming the evaluation of their antifouling capacity against brines reproducing formation waters from pre salt wells. Coatings with lower values for SFE and CSE presented the lowest degree of fouling as determined by wet analysis using inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP - AES).