Historically, all cities in the Republic of Kazakhstan have had centrally supplied heating systems. After the forced outage at the Ekibazstuz combined heat and power station in January 2023, largely blamed on outdated, worn-out infrastructure in dire need of renovation, the city declared a state of emergency. A number of local residents were disconnected from the city’s central heating system for months, amid temperatures ranging from -20°C to -30°C.

The government placed great emphasis on power plant infrastructure, allocating funds for repair and modernisation to ensure that the 2023-2024 heating season would pass without incident.

Following the outstanding reputation of Corrocoat Caspian for protecting industrial equipment and positive testimonials from long-standing clients, Pavlodar power station, the management of a power station in the city of Arkalyk (North Kazakhstan), commissioned Corrocoat Caspian to provide internal lining for 4 exchange filters, as well as a sodium cation filter, oil storage, salt solution, and mixer tanks.

All of the equipment was in poor condition, operating in a service environment with water and various chemicals at temperatures exceeding 50°C. Due to the absence of any corrosion protection over the years, they had heavily corroded equipment, resulting in thinning of the steel. Replacing the old equipment was not a viable option due to time and cost implications.

The Corrocoat Caspian team carried out the repair process on-site at the power station, removing surface contamination and abrasive blasting the surface of the equipment prior to coating application. Corroglass 600 series was applied manually on seams and heavily corroded areas, followed by Polyglass VEF, which was applied via spray application.

The mayor of the city personally supervised the work process and requested the team to protect additional equipment (a mixer tank and 2 ion exchange filters) throughout the project. Additional Corrocoat Caspian team members (from the manufacturing and service divisions) were brought onto the project, with day and night shifts implemented to complete the work and protect the equipment before the season started.