Alleima (Sandviken, Sweden), a global manufacturer of high value-added products in advanced stainless steel and special alloys, launched the now highly sought-after and field-proven Sanicro 35 grade in 2020 at the Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP) Annual Conference and Expo (held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic).
Shortly after its global market introduction, one of the largest oil refiners on the Gulf Coast put it into service for two heat exchangers in their crude unit overhead, and the alloy proved its value of bridging the gap between stainless steel and nickel alloys.
Since then, Alleima has delivered seamless tubes to the market, securing millions in orders annually for different industries such as fertilizer production, chemical processing, and renewable feedstock pre-treatment. Most recently, one of the largest orders was signed with a repeat customer that has upgraded seven crude unit air coolers at a major refinery on the U.S. Gulf Coast. In this application, Sanicro 35 was selected for its superior corrosion resistance in ammonium chloride salt environments. This marks the first global reference in air cooler type heat exchangers.
This year, Alleima will be promoting the possibilities for renewable diesel production and the chemical process industry. When a large refinery on the U.S. Gulf Coast chose to upgrade their crude overhead condensers to Sanicro 35, Brask Inc., a leading manufacturer of tube and shell heat exchangers, became one of the first fabricators to work with the alloy.
“We are very happy with the performance of Sanicro 35 and the support we have received from Alleima,” says Dinesh Bakshi, vice president of sales and marketing at Brask. “From our long-standing collaborative relationship with Sandvik Materials Technology, today know as Alleima, we were confident that we would be able to fabricate successfully with Sanicro 35, knowing we had the support of the Alleima technical marketing team behind us.”
“Alleima provided us with important information such as the code case details, the welding procedure number, and input on filler metal selection, ensuring fabrication went entirely to plan,” continues Bakshi. “When the refinery requested expedited delivery, Alleima stepped up, working tirelessly to meet the new deadline, which resulted in us delivering the equipment on time for installation at the refinery.”
“Our mission is to push metallurgical boundaries and provide high integrity solutions for safe operations in critical services all around the world,” says Carl von Schantz, president of the Tube division at Alleima. “There are countless opportunities across various industries where we can assist our customers with their technical challenges. The demand for Sanicro 35 has continued to rise since we first launched the product five years ago.”
“Despite the relatively short time Sanicro 35 has been in the market, our customers have already understood how Sanicro 35 can solve their challenges for several demanding applications,” says Tom Eriksson, executive vice president and head of Strategic Research at Alleima. “Alleima continues to support the traditional chemical processing industry, but with new alloy development it helps our customers increase their performance even further. Sanicro 35 is one of those developments.”
For some of the most demanding industries and applications, Sanicro 35 is a cost-competitive alternative to nickel-based alloys for demanding industrial environments in chemical processing, biorefineries, and petroleum refineries. It is ideal for heat exchangers and process piping in direct contact with high temperature seawater applications, sour environments, and other corrosive chemicals.
Traditionally, engineers have used nickel-based Alloy 625 as the go-to grade for equipment in corrosive environments. However, its price is high and variable due to its alloying content, which includes 58 percent nickel and up to 10 percent molybdenum. Sanicro 35 provides similar performance and can withstand a wide range of corrosive conditions, including seawater, acid and alkali, erosion-corrosion, pitting and crevice corrosion, and stress corrosion cracking (SCC). In addition, it has high mechanical strength together with excellent formability, weldability, and machinability.
Alleima had several representatives from the company at the AMPP Annual Conference and Expo 2025, including the group executive management. Across the five-day event, technical editors from Alleima presented on different subjects.
Source: Alleima, www.alleima.com.
