Corrosion of industrial components is a pervasive problem in manufacturing processes, costing U.S. industries $300 billion per year, according to the Department of Energy”s Industrial Technologies Program (ITP, www1.eere.energy.gov/industry/). With ITP support, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL, www.pnl.gov) led a project team to develop a new, low-cost ceramic-based coating for steel and superalloys. This coating protects the base metal from oxidation, metal dusting, carburization, and sulfidation, and prevents high-temperature (700 C to 1000 C) corrosion of metals in industries, such as chemical processing and industrial power generation. The coating reduces manufacturing costs by extending component lifetimes and allowing less expensive substrates to be used instead of expensive base materials. The coating is fabricated at significantly lower temperature than typically required for conventional ceramic coatings, therefore the new process saves energy and reduces harmful emissions. In fact, researchers are estimating that enhanced corrosion resistance could yield a 5 percent increase in energy efficiency and energy savings as high as 160 trillion Btu by 2010.
