Corrosion protection performance of reinforced steel coated with paints based on waste materials

Purpose Using organic coatings serves as a key method to protect metal structures against corrosion. Attempts have been made to improve the corrosion inhibition of the coatings using novel types of pigments. This study aims to study the application of organic coatings containing rice straw (RS) waste as anticorrosive pigment for corrosion protection of reinforced steel. The RS was used by precipitating a thin layer of ferrite pigments on its surface to improve their characteristics and corrosion resistance activity. Design/methodology/approach The evaluation of corrosion behavior of coated reinforced steel with paints containing these novel pigments is reported using different electrochemical methods. Findings The coatings containing the new prepared RS-ferrite pigments offered good corrosion protection, and coatings containing RS-ZnFe showed the best protection performance. Originality/value This paper introduces novel method to prepare treated RS without any burning and to play the role of pigments in anticorrosive paint formulations based on its silica content.