# Bio-based surface treatment of metals Rust preventatives, VCI films, epoxy coatings and lignin-based coatings formulated with bio-based oils, resins or lignin instead of fully petrochemical chemistry, applied directly to metal for corrosion protection during shipping, storage or long-term industrial and marine service — sold by specialty coatings and corrosion-solutions producers (Zerust, Verda Shield, LignoSphere, Baril Coatings) rather than compounded in-house by metal fabricators. Source: https://en.bioecon.ru/technology/bio-metal-surface-treatment/ Updated: 2026-08-18 ## Overview and value chain Markers: [EC: EU REACH substance registration | OECD: Industrial biotechnology, Bio-based materials | Regulator: EPA (USA), REACH (EU)] Bio-based surface treatment of metals replaces part or all of the petrochemical content in rust preventatives, vapor corrosion inhibitor (VCI) films, direct-to-metal epoxy coatings and industrial primers with bio-based oils, resins or lignin, applied to protect steel, aluminum and other metals during shipping, storage or long-term outdoor and marine service. The confirmed producers here span a genuine range of formulation chemistry and product format — Zerust's biodegradable and compostable VCI films and bio-based rust preventative oils, Verda Shield's bio-based-resin-plus-graphene epoxy coating, LignoSphere's lignin-nanosphere coatings derived from forest-industry byproduct, and Baril Coatings' bio-based industrial primer and topcoat line — rather than one shared chemistry applied by every producer. A useful distinction runs through the category: some products are temporary corrosion protection for shipping and storage (Zerust's VCI films and oils, designed to be removed before the metal part enters service), while others are permanent, direct-to-metal coatings intended to remain on the part for its service life (Verda Shield, LignoSphere, Baril Coatings) — a buyer should identify which of the two they need before comparing producers. The key directions of bio-based metal surface treatment are: 1. **Bio-based and biodegradable VCI (vapor corrosion inhibitor) products:** temporary rust-preventative oils and films that release a corrosion-inhibiting vapor during shipping and storage, formulated with biodegradable or compostable chemistry and removed before the part enters service (Zerust). 2. **Bio-based-resin epoxy coatings for permanent protection:** two-component epoxy coatings combining renewable-biomass-derived resins with performance additives (graphene, in Verda Shield's case) for direct-to-metal, marine-grade permanent corrosion protection. 3. **Lignin-derived coatings from forest-industry byproduct:** coatings built on lignin nanospheres extracted from forest-industry residue streams, targeting the durability, adhesion and corrosion-resistance requirements of metal coating applications (LignoSphere). 4. **Bio-based industrial primers and topcoats:** primer and topcoat systems reformulated with bio-based content to reduce CO2 footprint while maintaining conventional coating performance and film-thickness specifications (Baril Coatings). ### Sectoral value chain ``` [Bio-Based Feedstock Sourcing] ──> [Resin/Formulation Development] ──> [Coating or VCI Product Manufacturing] ──> [Metal Application/Treatment] │ (Corrosion Performance Testing) │ ▼ [In-Service or In-Transit Protection] ``` ### Value chain levels | Level | Description | Key inputs/outputs | |:---|:---|:---| | **Bio-based feedstock sourcing** | Sourcing bio-based oils, renewable-biomass resins or forest-industry lignin byproduct as the feedstock. | **In:** Bio-based oil, resin precursor or lignin byproduct.
**Out:** Feedstock ready for formulation. | | **Resin/formulation development** | Formulating the feedstock into a coating resin, VCI-active chemistry or rust-preventative oil. | **In:** Bio-based feedstock, formulation additives.
**Out:** Bio-based coating or corrosion-protection formulation. | | **Coating or VCI product manufacturing** | Manufacturing the finished coating, film or oil product at commercial scale. | **In:** Formulation, manufacturing infrastructure.
**Out:** Finished bio-based metal-protection product. | | **Metal application/treatment** | Applying the coating, film or oil to the metal surface via spray, dip or wrap application. | **In:** Finished product, metal substrate.
**Out:** Treated metal surface or part. | | **Corrosion performance testing** | Testing the treated metal against salt-spray, humidity or marine-exposure corrosion standards. | **In:** Treated metal, test protocol.
**Out:** Verified corrosion-resistance performance data. | | **In-service or in-transit protection** | The treated metal part is shipped, stored or placed into service, protected by the applied treatment. | **In:** Treated part.
**Out:** Corrosion-protected part in transit or service. | Cross-cutting technologies of the sector: - **Temporary versus permanent protection as the core product-format split:** VCI-based products (Zerust) are engineered to be removed before service, while epoxy, lignin-based and primer/topcoat coatings (Verda Shield, LignoSphere, Baril Coatings) are engineered to remain on the part permanently — a structural distinction in this category more significant than the specific bio-based feedstock used. - **Diverse bio-based feedstock chemistry with no single dominant route:** confirmed producers derive their bio-based content from different sources — biodegradable film polymers, renewable-biomass epoxy resins, forest-industry lignin byproduct — reflecting a category still exploring multiple feedstock routes rather than having converged on one. - **Standard corrosion-testing benchmarks as the shared performance proof point:** every confirmed producer substantiates its product against conventional corrosion-resistance benchmarks (marine-grade ratings, extended shipment/storage duration, salt-spray performance) rather than a bio-based-specific metric, since the buyer's requirement is corrosion protection first and bio-based sourcing second. --- ## US The United States hosts two confirmed producers spanning temporary VCI-based corrosion protection and permanent bio-based epoxy coatings. ### Temporary VCI protection and permanent bio-based epoxy coatings - **Zerust:** produces Natur-VCI, a fully biodegradable and compostable VCI film, alongside Axxanol 46-Bio and related bio-based rust preventative oils, all built on the company's Intelligent Counter-Corrosion Technologies (ICT) vapor corrosion inhibitor platform for shipping and storage protection. - **Verda Shield:** a Texas-based producer of Bio-SAC-S, a two-component epoxy coating combining bio-based, renewable-biomass-derived resins with graphene nanoparticles, rated for C5-M marine-grade direct-to-metal protection on steel and aluminum. --- ## CN This screening pass found no confirmed China-headquartered producer of a bio-based metal corrosion-protection product. ### Bio-based coating activity found, but not for metal protection The Chinese bio-based coatings results found this pass targeted indoor/wall-coating applications (antibacterial, formaldehyde-reducing residential coatings) rather than metal corrosion protection, and general metal anti-corrosion product listings found were generic marketplace pages without a confirmed bio-based sourcing claim. This section is left descriptive of that gap; it should be revisited if a China-based bio-based metal-coating producer's own product page can be directly confirmed. --- ## EU Europe hosts a Dutch industrial-coatings manufacturer and a Finnish lignin-technology startup, spanning an established bio-based primer/topcoat line and an early-stage lignin-nanosphere coating platform. ### Established bio-based coatings and early-stage lignin technology - **Baril Coatings:** a Netherlands-based industrial coatings manufacturer founded in 1982, producing 803BIO SteelKote and related bio-based primer and topcoat systems for extreme corrosion resistance on steel, marketed on reduced CO2 footprint at conventional film-thickness performance. - **LignoSphere:** an Aalto University-originated, Espoo, Finland-based startup developing bio-based coatings from lignin nanospheres sourced from forest-industry byproduct, targeting metal-coating durability, adhesion and corrosion resistance; the company closed a pre-seed funding round in 2026 and remains at an early development stage rather than full commercial scale. --- ## Leading companies and research institutes | Company / Institute | Country | Key products / platforms | Tech features | Status 2026 | |:---|:---|:---|:---|:---| | **Zerust** | 🇺🇸 USA | *Natur-VCI film, Axxanol 46-Bio rust preventative* | Biodegradable/compostable VCI chemistry | commercial | | **Verda Shield** | 🇺🇸 USA | *Bio-SAC-S epoxy coating* | Bio-based resin + graphene, C5-M marine-grade | commercial | | **Baril Coatings** | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | *803BIO SteelKote* | Founded 1982; reduced CO2, extreme corrosion resistance | commercial | | **LignoSphere** | 🇫🇮 Finland | *Lignin-nanosphere metal coatings* | Aalto University spin-out; forest-byproduct feedstock | pilot | --- ## Tech stack and innovations The stack spans two structurally different protection formats — temporary VCI-based and permanent direct-to-metal coating — with producers differentiating primarily by bio-based feedstock chemistry rather than a shared underlying technology platform. 1. **Vapor Corrosion Inhibitor Chemistry Made Biodegradable:** - Zerust's Natur-VCI extends the company's established Intelligent Counter-Corrosion Technologies vapor-inhibitor platform into a fully biodegradable and compostable film format, reformulating an existing temporary-protection product category around bio-based and end-of-life sustainability rather than changing its core corrosion-inhibition mechanism. - This is a reformulation innovation applied to a mature product category (VCI packaging), distinct from the from-scratch coating chemistries pursued by the permanent-protection producers. 2. **Performance-Additive Pairing in Bio-Based Epoxy Systems:** - Verda Shield pairs bio-based, renewable-biomass-derived epoxy resin with graphene nanoparticles rather than relying on the bio-based resin alone to achieve marine-grade (C5-M) performance, illustrating that bio-based content and top-tier corrosion performance are being pursued together via a hybrid formulation rather than treated as a performance trade-off. - This pairing approach is a useful signal for evaluating other bio-based coating claims: check whether the bio-based resin is doing the corrosion-protection work alone or is combined with a conventional performance additive. 3. **Forest-Industry Byproduct Valorization as an Emerging Feedstock Route:** - LignoSphere's lignin-nanosphere technology, originating from Aalto University research, converts a forest-industry residue stream into a coating feedstock, a valorization approach distinct from the plant-oil or bio-resin routes used by the other confirmed producers. - As a pre-seed-stage, Aalto University spin-out, this represents the category's most technically novel but least commercially mature confirmed direction — worth tracking rather than treating as an immediately deployable option alongside the more established producers. --- ## Value chains and production pipelines ### Industrial pipeline of a bio-metal-surface-treatment product line ``` ┌───────────────────────────┐ ┌───────────────────────────┐ │ 1. Bio-Based Feedstock │ ───> │ 2. Resin/Formulation │ │ Sourcing │ │ Development │ └───────────────────────────┘ └───────────────────────────┘ │ ▼ ┌───────────────────────────┐ ┌───────────────────────────┐ │ 4. Metal Application/ │ <─── │ 3. Coating or VCI Product │ │ Treatment │ │ Manufacturing │ └───────────────────────────┘ └───────────────────────────┘ │ ▼ ┌───────────────────────────┐ ┌───────────────────────────┐ │ 5. Corrosion Performance │ ───> │ 6. In-Service or In-Transit │ │ Testing │ │ Protection │ └───────────────────────────┘ └───────────────────────────┘ ``` #### Stage 1: Bio-based feedstock sourcing The producer sources bio-based oils, renewable-biomass resins or forest-industry lignin byproduct as the feedstock, the stage where each producer's specific feedstock route diverges. #### Stage 2: Resin/formulation development The feedstock is formulated into a coating resin, VCI-active chemistry or rust-preventative oil engineered for either temporary or permanent metal protection. #### Stage 3: Coating or VCI product manufacturing The finished coating, film or oil product is manufactured at commercial scale, ready for distribution to metal fabricators, shippers or industrial end users. #### Stage 4: Metal application/treatment The product is applied to the metal surface via spray, dip or wrap application, depending on whether it is a permanent coating or a temporary VCI treatment. #### Stage 5: Corrosion performance testing The treated metal is tested against salt-spray, humidity or marine-exposure corrosion standards, generating the verified performance data that substantiates the product's protection claim. #### Stage 6: In-service or in-transit protection The treated metal part is shipped, stored or placed into service, protected by the applied treatment — the stage where a temporary VCI product is eventually removed before service, while a permanent coating remains for the part's service life.