Bitumen is a solid or semi-solid high-viscosity liquid petroleum product at room temperature. The hot bitumen line discussed in this paper was uniquely designed to transport product at temperatures typically ranging from 140 to 149 degrees Celsius (284-300°F), preventing the application of an anti-corrosion external coating, which is ineffective at such temperatures. In this case, polyurethane foam insulation was used and an integrated moisture detection surveillance system for external moisture infiltration was installed for the long-term integrity of the bitumen line.

Inline inspections are used to identify external corrosion where insulation degradation may occur. Due to the unique properties of the pipeline in the study, the conventional method to assess the risk of external corrosion required further consideration. This paper will provide an example of how the conventional method of assessing external corrosion risk was modified to better suit a buried insulated pipeline through a series of additional environmental data inputs, validated with ILI results, to improve the predictive capability of the inferential external corrosion threat model.

Subject
Corrosion severity, Water, Piping, Insulation, Correlation, Moisture, Asphalt, Pipelines, Corrosion detection, Algorithms, Risk management, External corrosion, Soil
Keywords:
Buried insulated pipeline, Degradation, Risk, High operating temperature, Hot bitumen pipelines, External corrosion, Polyurethane foam pipeline insulation
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2023
Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP)
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