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Spinoff story
Primer Stops Corrosion without Requiring Rust Removal
A real-world story of NASA technology finding a life beyond the mission.
About this technology
Overview
In the mid-1990s, Pittsburgh-based Surtreat Inc. developed two corrosion inhibitors that, applied to the surface of concrete, migrated to the rebar inside. The company entered into a Space Act Agreement with Kennedy Space Center, conducting tests that validated the inhibitors as among the most effective on the market. Recently, Surtreat used a compound similar to one tested at Kennedy to develop a new pigmented primer that can be applied directly to rusty steel to inhibit corrosion.