Oil, gas and petrochemical industries have critical process equipment that experienced deterioration to varying degrees due to several factors. The options widely utilized to address these concerns include conventional repair, replacement or upgrade. However, these options are often expensive and require long shutdown time for repair. Non-metallic composite materials can be utilized as one of the most cost effective option to restore the integrity of these equipment within a short duration. This option not only helps to maximize the non-metallic enrichment within the operating plants, but also promote opportunities for creating additional petrochemical industries.

This paper focuses on our experience in Uthmaniyah Gas Plant where non-metallic composite materials have been used to restore the integrity of certain critical components. The components discussed in this paper will include cooling water system (CWS) and critical hydrocarbon pipelines. The CWS is critical for almost all process industries. The corrosivity of water and deterioration of materials in CWS is often complex due to variation in the water chemistry and other environmental factors. The core elements of a cooling water system, namely cooling tower and associated heat exchanger that experienced deterioration were upgraded with non-metallic composites to avoid recurrence and achieve longer life cycle.

Moreover, each operating plant has numerous pipelines for transporting feedstock and end-products. Each pipeline has transition points (above/below ground) and their external protections in asphalted/concreted areas have remained a challenging task. Industries experienced significant external corrosion due to shielding and abrasion at these transition points. Non-metallic composites installed as field trails in this application functioned effectively and enhanced the external protection.

This paper outlines the practical experiences in material degradation aspect on the referenced systems, from the prospective of a gas processing plant, and how non-metallic composite materials can play a vital role in corrosion protection and life extension of core components.

Subject
Costs, Water, Materials, Corrosion rate, Tubes, Pipelines, Wood, Heat exchangers, Composites, Cooling water systems, Corrosion protection, Cooling towers, Deterioration
Keywords:
non-metallic composites, cooling system, exchanger, cooling tower, corrosivity, hydrocarbon, cross country pipelines, transition point corrosion, microbiologically influenced corrosion, delignification
© 2008 Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP). All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of AMPP. Positions and opinions advanced in this work are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of AMPP. Responsibility for the content of the work lies solely with the author(s).
2008
Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP)
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