Rubber Lining for Tanks, Piping and Chutes

What we rubber line

Rubber lining protects steel against abrasion and chemical corrosion with a rubber sheet bonded to the wall. It absorbs particle impact instead of wearing down like a hard coating, and it isolates the metal from acids. It is one of the solutions within our industrial and protective coatings, our core business.

• Tanks and vessels: slurry tanks, acid tanks, leach tanks, thickeners (tank lining).
• Piping: slurry and tailings lines, acid lines, elbows and fittings (pipe coating).
• Chutes, hoppers and launders: ore impact and sliding zones.
• Equipment: pump casings, flotation cells, cyclones, gas scrubbers.
• Water treatment: filters, ion exchange columns, treatment chemical tanks.

The service is for industrial sites only, not residential. Work is carried out by our crews and qualified subcontractors.

Which rubber to choose

Rubber is chosen on three criteria: the chemical, the service temperature and the type of abrasion. The sheet manufacturer's chemical resistance tables govern for each product and each concentration.

• Soft natural rubber: the reference for abrasion by fine slurries and tailings, and for several dilute acids. It does not tolerate oils and oxidizers.
• Hard natural rubber (ebonite): better chemical and heat resistance than soft rubber, but less impact resistance.
• Neoprene (chloroprene): good resistance to weather, ozone and some oils; useful outdoors and in moderate abrasion.
• EPDM: good resistance to hot water, steam and several acids and bases; it does not resist oils or hydrocarbons.
• Bromobutyl: very low permeability, chosen for acids and aggressive chemicals where diffusion through the sheet is the main risk.
• Nitrile: chosen when the fluid carries oils, greases or hydrocarbons.

Hardness (Shore A), thickness and number of plies are then set from particle size, velocity and impact angle.

Pre-cured cold-bonded or autoclave-cured

The curing method depends mainly on part size and on where the work takes place.

• Autoclave curing: the lined part is cured under pressure and heat. Adhesion and uniformity are the best, but the part must fit in the autoclave: pipe spools, elbows, pump casings, small vessels.
• Pre-cured cold-bonded rubber: the sheet is already cured and is bonded with a cold adhesive. It is the solution for large tanks, chutes in place and on-site repairs.
• On-site curing: some sheets cure after installation, with steam, hot water or at ambient temperature, depending on the product.

In every case, seams are skived and overlapped following the manufacturer's method. The steel is blasted to a high grade, usually SSPC-SP 5 / NACE No. 1 or SSPC-SP 10 / NACE No. 2 per the data sheet, then primed without delay with the specified primer and adhesive.

Repairing an existing lining

A worn or debonded lining can often be repaired in sections, without full replacement. The inspection determines whether a local repair is enough.

• Inspection: locating blisters, debonding, cuts and worn areas, with spark testing and hardness readings.
• Cutting: removal of damaged rubber back to sound, well-bonded material, with skived edges.
• Preparation: local blasting of exposed steel, cleaning and activation of the retained rubber.
• Installation: patching with a compatible sheet, cold-bonded or cured on site depending on the product.
• Inspection: new spark test on the repair and its edges.

If the steel beneath is perforated or thinned, it is repaired before the new rubber goes in. When debonding is widespread, full replacement often costs less over time than a series of patches.

Tests and standards

Every lining is inspected before return to service, and the results are recorded in the file.

• Spark testing: high-voltage holiday test over the entire surface to find pinholes and open seams, under NACE SP0188 and the voltage set by the manufacturer (holiday test).
• Hardness: Shore A durometer readings under ASTM D2240, checked against the data sheet value.
• Adhesion: peel test on a witness specimen under ASTM D429 when the specification calls for it.
• Installation requirements: EN 14879-4 for coatings and linings of metallic equipment exposed to aggressive media.
• Visual check: seams, overlaps, blisters and debonding, by tapping or touch.

Surface preparation is checked before installation under SSPC-SP 5 or SP 10 and ISO 8501-1.

Site conditions and safety

Rubber installation needs a clean, dry, tempered surface, and it is most often done in a confined space. Both are planned before entering the vessel.

• Confined space: entry permit, ventilation, continuous attendant and rescue plan.
• Solvents and adhesives: ventilation and respiratory protection, ignition source control.
• Temperature and humidity: surface above the dew point, heating and dehumidification in winter, within the adhesive data sheet limits.
• Spark testing: clear area, trained personnel, no flammable atmosphere.
• Cleaning and decontamination: vessel rinsing and atmosphere testing before work in a former acid tank.

We coordinate this work with the shutdown and with the supply and installation of new parts where needed.

Pricing: by quote

Rubber lining is priced by quote. Six factors drive it:

• Area, shape and number of parts: nozzles, elbows and flanges take more labor than a flat wall.
• The rubber chosen, its thickness and the number of plies.
• The curing method: autoclave with transport, or cold bonding on site.
• Condition of the old lining and of the steel to repair.
• Access, confined space and decontamination.
• Season and shutdown window.

Send photos, approximate dimensions, the product in service and the location with your quote request: we reply within 24 business hours.

Where we work

Induscoat provides rubber lining across Quebec and in Ontario, working from LaSalle, Montreal:

• Montreal and Montérégie
• Quebec, for the province as a whole
• Abitibi-Témiscamingue
• Côte-Nord
• Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean
• Mauricie–Centre-du-Québec
• Ontario

When rubber is not the right answer

Rubber is the wrong choice when the temperature exceeds its range, when the product contains solvents or strong oxidizers that swell or harden it, or when abrasion comes from large, sharp lumps.

• Hot acids, solvents and mixed chemicals: novolac epoxy or another organic coating from our protective coatings may fit better.
• Containment, waterproofing and moderate abrasion over large areas: a polyurea coating goes on faster.
• Severe sliding abrasion by coarse ore: alumina ceramic tiles outlast rubber.
• Potable water tanks and water towers: see our tank and water tower painting service.

Our article industrial tank lining selection compares these options.

Typical Problems We Solve

• Fast wear of steel or hard coatings under slurry and tailings abrasion
• Acid attack on steel tanks and piping
• Blistering, debonding or cuts in an existing rubber lining
• Lining failure caused by a rubber not suited to the chemical or temperature

What You Receive

• Technical quote stating the rubber type, hardness, thickness, number of plies and curing method
• Steel blasted to SSPC-SP 5 or SP 10 and lined to the manufacturer's method
• Spark test report under NACE SP0188 and Shore A hardness readings under ASTM D2240
• Inspection file with repair map for existing linings

Timeline

Standards & Certifications

• NACE SP0188: discontinuity (holiday) testing of protective coatings and linings on conductive substrates
• ASTM D2240: rubber hardness by durometer (Shore A)
• ASTM D429: adhesion of rubber to rigid substrates
• EN 14879-4: linings on metallic components exposed to aggressive media

Industries We Serve

• Mining: slurry tanks, tailings lines, chutes and flotation cells
• Chemical: acid tanks, piping and scrubbers
• Water treatment: filters, ion exchange columns and chemical tanks
• Metals and processing: pickling tanks and process equipment

Service FAQ

Technical guides

• Industrial tank lining selection
• Holiday test: definition and method
• Novolac epoxy
• Coating failure modes and diagnosis

Related applications

Concrete industrial use cases where this service is applied.