Corrosion Awareness Day at Silesian University of Technology
On April 24, we celebrated Corrosion Awareness Day. This holiday was established in 2010 by the World Corrosion Organization (WCO). Its aim is to draw attention to the dangers and problems resulting from corrosion of materials and the huge losses that this phenomenon causes.
Silesian University of Technology has been involved in the celebrations for the second time. The event was held at the Faculty of Chemistry, the organizers prepared a lecture, a demonstration of chemical experiments and the finals of the photographic and visual competition. “We have joined the Corrosion Awareness Day because we want to make the public aware that corrosion affects everyone. We all know what a corroded car, door handle or other everyday objects look like. However, not everyone wonders what corrosion is and where it comes from – said Prof. Wojciech Simka, Head of the Corrosion Research Laboratory at the Faculty of Chemistry of the Silesian University of Technology.
Although corrosion affects all of us, there are industries that are more exposed to it. “These are, for example, offshore drilling platforms, where there is high salinity. Their structures must be specially protected against corrosion. The same goes for ships, because they sail in an environment that is very dangerous and degrading to metals. The chemical and petrochemical industries are also struggling with corrosion all the time. Also in this case, you need to use either appropriate equipment or appropriate safeguards – added the professor.
Corrosion causes real losses to the economy. “Globally, it is said that losses from this amount to as much as 2.5 trillion dollars a year. This is because it costs so much to replace or repair what corroded and the costs of stopping production. Corrosion is also a safety issue. "We've all heard of the Ponte Morandi bridge disaster in Genoa in 2018, which killed 43 people," said Dr Eng. Maciej Sowa from the Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Analytical Chemistry and Electrochemistry, co-organizer of the Corrosion Awareness Day at the Silesian University of Technology.
Interestingly, in some cases corrosion can also have aesthetic qualities. A noble product of corrosion is the patina that covers the roofs of many buildings, or the world-famous Statue of Liberty. Therefore, we also want the public to understand that corrosion is not an unambiguously bad phenomenon – added Dr Eng. Sowa.
During the Corrosion Awareness Day, one could listen to a popular science lecture entitled "Can coatings protect intelligently?" prepared by Dr Hab. Eng. Małgorzata Zubielewicz from the Lukasiewicz Research Network. Students from the Chemistry Science Club organized a presentation of chemical experiments. “We presented the oxidation and reduction cycle, so the same process as in the case of corrosion, because corrosion is nothing but the oxidation of metal. Because corrosion is a long-lasting process, instead of metal, we used other substances – explained Mateusz Pilszak from Chemists Science Club.
Corrosion Awareness Day ended with the final of competitions: photographic, art, and for the name of the cat, which made its home in the” Red Chemistry building.” More information about the event and the competitions can be found at:CorrDay 2024 - Ceremony | Laboratorium Badań Korozyjnych (polsl.pl).
