Rubber Lining is the skilled application and bonding of rubber sheet to specially prepared surfaces. The rubber can be applied as either unvulcanized material which is then vulcanized and hot bonded – usually in a steam autoclave; or as pre-vulcanized material which is cold bonded using two part adhesives. The fully bonded lining provides a durable and resilient protective rubber coating that will withstand very aggressive process conditions and applications.
Rubber Linings and Coatings can be from 2mm to 50mm thick depending on the application, and can be bonded to mild steel, stainless steel, cast iron and aluminium.
Operational Benefits of Rubber Lining
The principal benefits of rubber lining are its excellent resistance to corrosive and abrasive chemicals and materials, e.g. acids, alkali, salt water, slurries, sand, shotblast media, crushed rock etc. In addition rubber linings provide other benefits including noise and vibration reduction, electrical and thermal insulation and product protection.
Environmental and Economic Benefits of Rubber Lining
One of the great advantages of rubber lining is the option to remove or strip old linings at the end of their service life and replace with a completely new rubber lining. The item of plant can be relined on site or removed to the rubber lining factory depending on circumstances.
The relining option has many benefits including avoiding the expense and time required to a) fabricate a new piece of equipment, and b) to dismantle other plant and infrastructure to install a new piece of equipment. There are savings in raw materials and fabrication costs, down time and interruption of production; and savings in transport costs if the item is relined on site. These savings can be environmentally friendly and of real economic advantage to the end user of the rubber lined plant.
Relining of plant is regularly used in many applications including water treatment vessels in power stations and at other industrial/manufacturing sites where the cost of removing vessels from site would be prohibitive; for quarrying, dredging and sand washing plant which is subject to high levels of wear and abrasion; and for vibratory finishing machines within the metal finishing industry which are also subject to high levels of wear