Problem
statement 1: Corrosion is a major problem in many
industries which is one of the most serious ageing mechanisms impacting the
equipment and assets of refineries and plants. Corrosion can be concentrated
locally to form a pit or crack, or
it can extend across a wide area more or less uniformly corroding the surface.
Due to its diffusion-controlled process, corrosion occurs only on exposed
surfaces. Uncontrolled corrosion can cause leaks and component failures, which
will affect in both the performance and reliability of important equipment. In
extreme cases, corrosion can lead to unexpected failures that can be costly in
terms of repairing costs, environmental damage and potential harm to humans.
Problem
statement 2: Industries need to spend more on anti-corrode
materials (act as control to prevent and slow down the rusting process) or rust
converter chemical (act by convert the rust layer to a passive layer and stop
the rusting process) to overcome this problem. However, current anti-corrode
materials is costly and harmful due to its toxicity. This is due to current
commercial rust converters are made from synthetic chemicals.
Problem statement 3: Agricultural activities such as palm oil generate a
substantial amount of lignocellulosic wastes. This will create pollution
problems (related to the disposal of agriculture waste) in the palm oil
refineries as these wastes need long time to be degraded.
Solution: LignoRust: An Ecofriendly Rust Converter:
1)
Low-cost - The basic
substance used in the production of LignoRust is lignin that is extracted from
lignocellulosic waste which exhibits good compatibility with commercial rust
converter available in the market.
2)
Local Raw Material - originated from
a smart recycling of agricultural waste.
3)
Less toxic - safe for
human consumer/operator/end user
4)
Environmentally friendly – The development of lignocellulosic industry is
predicted to be an economy booster for small scale farmers. As the 2nd
main exporter of palm oil in the world, utilization of oil palm biomass for the
production of environmental-friendly biomaterials has become an attractive
approach instead of creating pollution problems.
