Petrochemical, the number 1 industry in corrosion problems

Petrochemical, the number 1 industry in corrosion problems

If we were to weight the industries in order of greatest vulnerability to corrosion, we would undoubtedly place the petrochemical industry in first place. The reason is none other than the existence of a double affectation, external and internal, in the enormous steel infrastructures used. From the oil platforms installed in the sea, passing through the oil refineries, until reaching the last chemical industries that produce gases, plastics, etc. All are affected by the double risk of external and internal corrosion.

What is Petrochemical?

It is a branch of chemistry that studies the transformation of crude oil and natural gas into useful products or raw materials. These petrochemicals have become an essential part of today's chemical industry throughout the world.

Its main objective in the industry is to obtain chemical derivatives of petroleum and associated gases. Petrochemical products include all chemical substances derived from them. The modern petrochemical industry dates from the late XNUMXth century. Most of these products are made from a relatively small number of hydrocarbons, such as; methane, ethane, propane, butane, etc.

Petrochemistry provides the knowledge and mechanisms for the production of fossil fuel products, such as gasoline, diesel, kerosene or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). This science also deals with the production of fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides, asphalt, synthetic fibers and the manufacture of different plastics. Gloves, erasers, and paints, among many other everyday items, are part of petrochemical production.

The processes for obtaining petrochemical products are carried out in refineries and involve physical and chemical changes in the hydrocarbons. The basic process, which splits oil and natural gas into various lighter compounds, is known as cracking (molecules unfold).

Coated pipes. Are they the solution?

PTFE/PFA lined piping systems have been used successfully for many years in the petrochemical industry. They have been used in situations where the material being handled is too corrosive to be easily handled with traditional pipes. Although the non-stick properties of coatings should not be overlooked when handling extremely thick materials.

Since a good proportion of the fluids handled in a plant have the potential to be statically charged, as well as being potentially flammable and explosive, static buildup within PTFE/PFA lined pipe is a potential concern when handling such fluids. To eliminate this problem, SIESA offers a full range of static dissipative PTFE/PFA lined products that allow any charge that would otherwise accumulate on the inside of the lined pipe to pass through the lining to the outer steel casing. The obvious result of this is that grounding such clad pipe systems is critical, as failure to do so would simply move the static buildup problem from one location to another.

As with all global industries, competition is becoming increasingly fierce, with major players looking for ways to cut costs without compromising product safety and quality. In recent years, several major petrochemical companies have phased out traditional unlined carbon steel pipe. Said pipes are replaced every 3 to 5 years to deal with internal corrosion, and they replace it with a Fluoropolymer lining, due to the reduced cost of living benefits that these systems bring.

References

https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroqu%C3%ADmica

Search
Other publications
Categories