Heavy Fuel Oil HFO pipeline - What to do once unloading is completed

[saising13]

Dear Members

I am new Piping Designer

Please help me about the technologies & design for HFO unloading pipeline
I also get confusing about Unloading HFO from the Barge,
Project requirement:
- 6'' dia. pipeline / total = 1800m / unloading from Barge at Jetty and delivery to Storage Tank.
HFO specs: Density=970 kg/m3 / Viscosity=180cSt / Operation temp.=50 C deg./ Suction velocity=0.9 m/s; discharge velocity=1.26 m/s ; Pumping pressure. = 12.4 bar;
+ The Barge 400DWT without Heating System attached,
**Question??
a) How to heating the Oil in the Barge (400DWT) when approaching to Jetty at Initial temp.=6-12C deg.?
b) How to calculation and determine that 6'' dia. pipeline needed Heat Tracing / Insulation or not?
and If really needed heat tracing then which method is the best for HFO pipeline
c) How to Flushing and Cleaning the HFO oil left inside the pipeline after unloading is completed.
I do not know that just leaving the pipeline with full HFO or must clean it out and the pipeline is empty clean??? which solution is the best ??? and how about the procedure to design and operation.

Thermal Power Plant project location based in Vietnam

Thank in advance
LONG, Junior Piping Designer

 

[BigInch]

a) you should use barges that have built-in heating capability.
b) search Google for "Pipe Insulation calculation"
c) Design a flushing line connection to flush the HFO pipeline of oil and fill behind it with diesel. Let the diesel push out the HFO.

you must get smarter than the software you're using.

 

[LittleInch]

saising,

Nothing attached so no details of the barge.

a) BI is correct - The barge needs to tell you how they plan to heat it up. If it's 180CSt at 50C I don't want to think what it is at 6-12C (seems quite cold for Vietnam??) The only other solution you have is to somehow get a heater and re-circulation pump onto the barge and spend a couple of days warming it up or maybe heat it before pumping if it will actually flow into a pump. Most centrifugal pumps don't like high viscosity fluids > 3-400 CSt so you might need a PD pump of some sort - Screw pumps are quite good for this duty.

I have heard of a tanker which was transporting high pour point crude without heating which went solid and needed to go into a dry dock to hack it out so I hope your HFO has a high enough pour point....

b) 1800m of 6" will cool down, but maybe only a few degrees. Your issue is that if you stop pumping with HFO and the line cools down, can you re-start with the line full of HFO at ambient ground temperature? If yes then insulation may not be needed, if no then it is and you need trace heating also. For that sort of distance simple heat tracing electrical tape is good (maybe need a higher voltage version than "normal" plant heat tracing tape). If you trace heat you need to insulate otherwise the power demand goes through the roof...

c) You can flush or if you have electric trace heating you can either maintain the temperature if your barges are every other day, or leave it to cool down and then heat it back up over 24-48 hours before the next delivery.

My motto: Learn something new every day

Also: There's usually a good reason why everyone does it that way

 

[saising13]

Thank you for all of your share value ideas

C) as BI advised that just use diesel flushing HFO and left 6" pipeline with full diesel. Then next HFO Delivery , the first step is pump out of disel to the stand by tank. Second step is HFO pumping
Is is my right?

a) the barge is local design without Heating system and pump attached.
assumed that at winter time is 12C deg. You know last chinese new year Northern vietnam is 7C deg only.
So i need to proposal of design Heater to heat up HFO inside the barge meet 50C then start pumping.
Problem from here is how to design the heating Coil mounted inside the barge????
Using steam or electric heating or other solutions??

b) 1800m 6" lines. Inlet temp. is 50C and Outlet temp. (At tank inlet nozzle) = ? in case of Pipeline insulation 50mm thickness only, No needed to do Heat tracing.
I want to know that how to confirmed the Outlet temp. Minimum 40C.
Which methods or tools to calculation for this case.
If the right methods to calculate the line heat transfer not much drop so I can saving cost of Heat tracing.

Thank for your time and sharing experiences

Saising

 

[BigInch]

Time to talk to shipbuilder and hire a pipeline engineer.

you must get smarter than the software you're using.