Van der Ende has been working on a special project for Rubis Terminal Botlek-Rotterdam since mid-December: the blasting and preservation of ten new storage tanks. The exceptional thing about this project is the pre-treatment method and the height of the tanks. Normally, storage tanks are between 15 and 20 meters high, but the tanks at Rubis have a height of 25 to 30 meters. This makes it a challenging and especially exhausting job for the painters who climb up steel scaffolding several times a day. Because of the time of year, the scaffolding is shielded with shrink wrap and scaffolding netting, protecting the painters from inclement weather and reducing weather fatigue.
Unique pretreatment method
Rubis Terminal Rotterdam is a specialized storage and transshipment service for minerals and chemicals. Extreme caution was therefore required. Before the painters could blast and converse, the tanks were first intensively hosed down with water to remove contamination and any chlorides present. Then they were pretreated using a non-common pretreatment method. Since the tanks were built within an existing terminal, we chose a pretreatment method that minimized dust nuisance to the surrounding area. Blasting is done using the blasting method “torbovent blasting. This is a method in which the abrasive mixed with water sits as a sludge in the blast pot. This sludge is used to remove paint and corrosion under high pressure and roughen up the walls. This creates a good base for applying the paint layer.
Rubis is very pleased with Van der Ende’s choice of this treatment method, which is unknown to Rubis. The project is progressing well and the tanks will be delivered in a beautiful white final coat at the end of April.