December 2006 | Page - 10
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ENVIRONMENTAL PHILOSOPHY STATEMENT
I believe that the state of our planet is at a crucial stage. It is time we, all of us in this world either choose to do something about the on-going destruction of our environment, or just sit back and watch it happen. For time immemorial the human kind has passed on the responsibility of nurturing the Earth from one genera -
tion to another. Presently we are the custodians of the Earth. The future generations will never get to see or experience all the wonders that we have seen and experienced in this lifetime, if the present rate of destruction continues. For a fact, unless we take concrete steps a large number of animals, plants and other organism will be extinct within the next few centuries or so.

Let me be honest. I was never aware about what was going on in the environment beyond common issues such as recycling, reusing and so on, until I actually got to watch a few documentaries in and out of school. They opened my eyes to the fact that there are lots of concerns for the earth in terms of nature and environment.  The most important thing I have come to realize is that every part and organism of nature and environment is essential for the well-being and survival of humans living on this planet. It is nothing but our greed and natural crave for dominance that is essentially contributing to the extermination of the environment.
Humans have been over-harvesting for too long a time, meaning that they have been taking more than they can replace and therefore we are losing hundreds and thousands of species of flora and fauna without us realizing it. It is unfortunate that people never stop to think, they just do it and then later on regret their actions. What if some of those extinct and endangered plants hold the antidote to fatal diseases such as AIDS? Nobody would know, because we are not doing anything to stop all this destruction. I am not saying that people aren’t trying to stop it because some knowledgeable people have spent lifetimes trying to make others aware of it but, it is shocking many who are still so ignorant about such a s serious situation.

In conclusion, I can say with strong conviction that I too can make a difference towards preserving the environment and the beautiful earth in which we all are living. No matter how small the changes I can make, within my family or within my community and school – one is always able to make some sort of a difference.

As a first step I have been trying to cut down on wastage of plastic bags, bottles and plates at school. To achieve this, all I have to do is to buy food at another canteen, and bring my own bottle of water to school, and simply recycle the plastic bags that my family gets at the supermarket. It’s not much that I am doing to help the environment, but it is most definitely a start.      

- By Ms. Sophie I Syed.
Fourteen year old Sophie is the daughter of our
Technical Manager Mr. Syed M Mahmoodulla.

PAINT OR BE DOOMED TO FADE AWAY
The importance of Paints can be understood when one realizes that corrosion destroys 1/5 of the world’s production of ferrous metal annually. Corrosion has been defined as the degradation of a material by a chemical or electrochemical reaction with the surrounding environment. With metals, corrosion is normally the result of an electrochemical reaction taking place on the surface that converts the metal into its oxides. The corrosion product of iron and steel is rust that is porous and is loosely adherent to the surface of the metal. It offers little or no protection from further corrosion.

With other metals a tight skin is formed on the surface that helps to prevent further corrosion taking place. These metals are said to be passivated and examples of passivated metals are Aluminum, Lead and Chromium. The products of Zinc corrosion also form a tight skin thus slowing down the corrosion process.

The corrosive elements tend to be acidic in nature. The acid attacks the steel by a direct reaction and dissolves the metal.

The 3 key elements for electrochemical corrosion are water, oxygen and soluble salts. The types of Paint coating ensure that the foregoing 3 elements are prevented from reaching the substrate. Paints range from the short term protection offered by conventional systems such as alkyds, to the long term protection offered by the high technology coatings such as epoxies and polyurethanes.

Most coatings are composed of the following 3 basic components:
Pigments
1 Imparts opacity
2 Imparts colour
3 Gives strength to the film
4 Regulates viscosity
5 Increases chemical and atmosphere exposure resistance.
Binders
1 Bind the pigment
2 Give adhesion to the substrate
3 Promote chemical and atmospheric resistance
4 Impart flexibility to the film
5 Increase the abrasion resistance

Solvents
1 Transport the pigment-binder to the substrate
2 Control viscosity
3 Control the flow of binder
4 Wet the Substrate

Whilst the pigment can characterize the properties of a coating, it is the generic type resin that primarily determines the performance and resistance characteristics of a coating. The solvent is determined by the resin type and plays little part in the long term performance of a coating.

What you've read here is the very basics of Paint Technology. There is much more to paints then what has been described above. Trust it will generate some interest in Paints and readers will delve in to topics not touched in the above article like:

  1. Coatings and Compositions
  2. Surface Preparation
  3. Maintenance of existing paint systems
  4. Writing a paint specification.

 

- Article compiled by Mr. Syed M Mahmoodulla, Technical Manager.

 
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