Preservation procedure for the idle equipment in refinery...

[PAN]

For the in-service refinery, corrosion is a serious problem for the idle equipment. In case of the existing plant (piping system and equipment) will not be used for 2 years. Please advise me about the preservation procedure. Thanks in advance for your recommendation.

 

[jonralph]

Depending on volume and the service of the system my first choice would be to initially purge it with nitrogen to remove any O2 and then pack it with Nitrogen to a low pressure (2-3Psi) , maintain this with a bottle rack and regulator. I would be wary of using nitrogen from a membrane system as they are still quite high in O2.

If you have any further questions let me know.

 

[masg]

If the equipment (piping and vessels)is primed and painted, you should be OK for external corrosion protection. If it isn't, as with insulated piping, you could experience metal loss should the metal/insulation become wet.

Steve Grzywa
sgrzywa@citgo.com

 

[PAN]

Thanks jonralph and Steve
I have selected 3 references for this matter.

- MTI publication 34, Guidelines for the Mothballing of Process Plants
- API Guide for Inspection fo Refinery Equipment, Chapter XVIII-Protection of Idle Equipment, 3rd Edition. Apr-1982
- Cortec Corp., Temporary Protection, Lay-up and Mothballing Equipment, Systems and Plant

Please advise me if there are other good references.

 

[dcasto]

If you have liquids such as caustic then they should be removed, same goes for any oils.. i'd also try to dry the plant to. BJ Services (formally PLD)in Houston has group that can do this. They also do the reverse for purging equipment that has been down a long time too.