ECOPROT
ECO-FRIENDLY CORROSION PROTECTING COATING OF ALUMINIUM AND MAGNESIUM ALLOYS
The aim of ECOPROT is to industrialise a procedure for producing glass-like, environmentally-friendly and self-healing cerium-based coatings for corrosion protection of aluminium and magnesium alloys. The coatings were developed in a previous Integrated Project, MULTIPROTECT, and the procedure was granted a patent.
The new product is intended for the aeronautic market, where it will be introduced as an environmentally friendly alternative to conventional Cr-based coatings, which provided optimum corrosion protection, but with a major drawback represented by their toxicity. The market will first focus on the French aeronautic sector and will be further extended to address a wider geographical area. The specific objectives to achieve this target are the following:
- Optimization of the coating process for industrial applications (process scale-up)
- Validation of the coated products according to the high standards of the aeronautic industry, in order to ensure replication of the process
- Life cycle assessment of the entire process and the final product, taking into account all production stages, from raw materials to energy and water consumption, end-of-life, etc.
- Business plan to ensure penetration of the final product into the French aeronautic market as a first step and then extend it to other geographical areas.