How can something as mild as milk be a threat to a substance as tough as concrete?
Lactic Acid
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The slight sweetness of natural milk comes from a sugar called lactose. However when the milk starts to age, this lactose ferments into lactic acid, and the milk becomes sour. The milk in your home refrigerator has been pasteurized and treated in various ways to prevent it going sour for as long as possible. However this is not true of spillages or waste in a dairy processing plant.
The acid resulting from spilt, soured milk is distinctly harmful to the concrete floor or drainage channels of a processing facility. This includes facilities where yoghurt or cheese are produced.
Two-Pronged Attack
We’ve talked elsewhere about harmful chemicals in specific industries – fertilizer, hypersaline water, chlorides and others. There are two main challenges to the service life of the concrete.
Firstly, degradation of the concrete surface. Apart from being unsightly, this becomes a safety and cleaning hazard. Further, loss of surface concrete reduces the ‘cover’, the level of concrete protecting the reinforcing steel, leaving it more prone to corrosion.
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Secondly, the acid can work its way deep into the concrete, and attack the reinforcing steel directly.
Any corrosion of the reinforcing steel will rapidly advance the deterioration of the concrete, requiring significant repair or even replacement of the slab.
Protection from Within
The most common response to these challenges is to apply an external coating for protection. The main drawback of this approach is that coatings wear away over time, and need re-application. In fact the slightest damage to the coating can render it useless.
What is needed is protection within the concrete itself – blocking the porosity, keeping out the contaminants, and preventing the destructive reactions.
This is achieved by use of catalytic nanoparticle silica treatments. These react with the concrete internally, forming a C-S-H hydrogel and closing up the pores – the channels for contamination entry and movement. Penetrating deep within the concrete, the hydrogel surrounds the reinforcing steel with permanent protection. There is no need to re-apply.
How About Your Worksite?
Intrigued? Faced with similar challenges on your factory floor? We’re keen to discuss your concrete needs – get in touch!
