Development and Characterization of Epoxy/Banana Pseudo-Stem Nanocellulose (BPNC) Composites as Anti-Corrosion Coatings on Mild Steel Kurt Sterling M. Ubas 1,2,a* , Jessalyn C. Grumo 1,2,b , Archie G. Ruda 1,2,c , Marjune T. Bonilla 1,2,3,d , Aaron Andrew B. Mutia 1,2,e , Joselito P. Labis 4,f , Noel Lito B. Sayson 1,2,g and Arnold C. Alguno 1,2,h 1 Department of Physics, College of Science and Mathematics, Mindanao State University – Iligan Institute of Technology, Iligan City, 9200, Philippines 2 Premier Research Institute of Science and Mathematics, Mindanao State University – Iligan Institute of Technology, Iligan City, 9200, Philippines 3 University of Science and Technology of Southern Philippines 4 King Abdullah Institute of Nanotechnology, King Saud University, Riyadh, 11451, Saudi Arabia a kurtsterling.ubas@g.msuiit.edu.ph, b jessalyn.grumo@g.msuiit.edu.ph, c archie.ruda@g.msuiit.edu.ph, d marjune.bonilla@g.msuiit.edu.ph, e aaronandrew.mutia@g.msuiit.edu.ph, f jlabis@ksu.edu.sa, g noellito.sayson@g.msuiit.edu.ph, h arnold.alguno@g.msuiit.edu.ph Keywords: Epoxy coatings, Nanocomposites, Corrosion Protection, Mild steel, Banana Pseudo- Stem, Nanocellulose Abstract. In the Philippines, bananas are one of the most exported agricultural products, with up to 6 million metric tons of annual harvest. Because of this, harvesting bananas generates waste like banana pseudo-stems. Banana pseudo-stems offer a good source of nanocellulose, and it was found that these have very similar chemical compositions to jute and sisal fibers, which are the most common sources of cellulose today. This only indicates that banana pseudo-stems could be utilized for different industrial and engineering applications. Epoxy-based nanocomposite coatings have attracted attention in industrial and engineering applications. Epoxy/banana pseudo-stem nanocellulose (Epoxy/BPNC) composites as anti-corrosive fillers were prepared by incorporating BPNC into the epoxy matrix to improve the anti-corrosion performance of epoxy coatings on mild steel surfaces. Their anti-corrosion properties were explored by the Tafel polarization technique under immersion in 3.5 wt.% NaCl solution as a corrosive medium. According to the results, it can be observed that epoxy/BPNC composite coatings significantly improve the anti-corrosion performance on mild steel surfaces with a 1.5 wt.% BPNC loading ratio as the optimized concentration. Furthermore, it can be seen that the optimized concentration of the BPNC loading ratio (1.5 wt.%) has a lower corrosion rate (CR = 2.7109 x 10 -6 mm/year) compared to that of the bare mild steel (CR = 6.11190 x 10 -2 mm/year). Additionally, the SEM results showed that the presence of BPNC in the epoxy matrix has a significant protective effect compared to pure epoxy alone. Introduction The use of mild steel has been present in many engineering and daily-life applications due to its cost-effectiveness and appreciable mechanical strength. In atmospheric conditions, most metals and alloys are unstable and prone to corrosion. Therefore, it is essential to control the corrosion to save considerable expenses in materials, equipment, and structure. Scientific reports suggested that the estimated global cost of corrosion was approximately 3.4% of the gross domestic product (GDP). Therefore, corrosion is a major and significant issue that needs an immediate and effective solution [1, 2]. Generally, anti-corrosion coatings employ three barriers: barrier effects between substrate metallic materials and the environment; the inhibition of the corrosion process; and the coating as a sacrificial Solid State Phenomena Submitted: 2022-11-18 ISSN: 1662-9779, Vol. 351, pp 103-115 Revised: 2023-07-27 doi:10.4028/p-r9PWNh Accepted: 2023-07-27 © 2023 Trans Tech Publications Ltd, Switzerland Online: 2023-10-27 All rights reserved. No part of contents of this paper may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without the written permission of Trans Tech Publications Ltd, www.scientific.net. (#627438401, MSU-Mindanao State University – Iligan Institute of Technology (IIT), Iligan, Philippines- 16/11/23,12:09:39)