LAHORE:Pakistan Advanced Materials Forum (PAMF) President Engr. Tahir Ikram said on Tuesday that like other natural hazards such as earthquakes or severe weather, corrosion can cause physical and economic loss to national assets, structures and engineering components including daily use appliances.
He was addressing the inaugural session of training workshop on ‘Corrosion and its prevention’ organized by PAMF here at Punjab University Institute of Metallurgy & Materials Engineering. Faculty of Chemicals & Materials Engineering Dean Prof Dr Abdullah Khan Durrani, PAMF Secretary General Dr. Amjad Ali, 50 scientists and engineers from various educational and other institutions including PN, SNGPL, IST, Punjab University, KRL, PAEC, EPRF, MTC etc. participated in the workshop.
Engr. Tahir Ikram said that objective of this workshop was to update the appreciation of corrosion and the awareness of emerging technologies for corrosion control and prevention. He said that the workshop was intended to focus the concerns of public safety, damage to property and the environment, as well as save billions of rupees.
He said that through the application of existing or emerging technologies to products or services, advances were being made in all methods for corrosion control: selection, coatings, inhibitors, cathodic protection and design.
The PAMF President said that market opportunities were to be found to transfer the existing technologies to other industries. He emphasized that it was a high time to work together for this national cause.
Addressing the workshop, Dr Durrani said that the global cost of corrosion was estimated to be US $ 2.5 trillion, which was equivalent to 3.4 percent of the global GDP (2013). He said that by using the available corrosion control practices, it was estimated that savings between 15 to 35 percent of the cost of corrosion could be realized i.e. between US $ 375 and $ 875 billion annually on a global basis. He hoped that this workshop would prove to be beneficial for the participants and their respective organizations. He added that this faculty had Corrosion Control Research Cell established in 2000 by renowned Professor Dr. Ijaz Hussain Khan, who was pioneer in Pakistan to start corrosion engineering subject.
PAMF Secretary General Dr. Amjad Ali highlighted the scope of the workshop. The three-day workshop would enable the beginners to establish a solid foundation in corrosion before moving on to advanced topics. He said that exercises, hands-on practical sessions and experiments throughout the course would enable the participants to understand the basic concepts and fundamentals important to corrosion.
He said that the realization of this problem and work towards a sound solution was very important for all of them.