Industrial Nanotech Inc (INTK)

[kyallen]

equipment and platform structures. Typical
challenges faced in winter include ice formation and
heat loss.
Ice formation on aboveground lines, tanks, and
offshore structures represents a significant personnel
safety issue. Ice can make walkways and railings more
dangerous to use and create slip and fall hazards.
Icicles that form on overhead tanks and structures
can fall, damaging gauges, vehicles, or other
equipment. Icephobic coatings are a solution to this
issue.
Icephobic coatings are intrinsically hydrophobic
(water repelling) so they discourage ice and icicle
formation on surfaces. Certain patented thermal
insulation coatings are icephobic, so users get the
benefit of both insulation and reduction of ice
formation.
Heat loss from fuel oil storage tanks, especially
those subject to offshore conditions, is another
concern during the winter that typically results in
higher energy costs from heating products to avoid
delivery issues. Employing wrap insulations with
aluminium covering on them is time-consuming,
expensive and causes the aforementioned issue with
CUI. It is also a short-term solution.
This is another area where TICs can be used. They
can be spray applied to the exterior of the tank and
no covering is needed, and they are built to endure
the harsh salt-spray environment.
Case study
China’s state-owned oil and gas company, Sinopec,
was reviewing new technologies for the dual
problems of keeping its offshore fuel oil tanks
insulated and corrosion free. The company
performed a successful study from October 2012 to
March 2013 with a TIC by SynavaxTM for insulation
and corrosion control. It had previously been
insulating the tank, which was on an offshore
platform in the East China Sea, with 8 cm mineral
wool covered by aluminium cladding. The tank had
to be kept between 68°C and 72°C (154°F and 162°F).
A 12-coat application of the TIC, approximately
1200 µm applied wet film thickness (0.12 cm), was
used. The company found that the new technology
was just as effective as the 8 cm mineral wool
(within a tested 3°C), and it stopped the CUI
problem.
Autumn weather challenges
Autumn is generally the mildest season with less
severe climate related issues.
Maintenance and improvements for sustainability
and other requirements do not always have to wait
for scheduled plant shutdowns. While some
maintenance may need to be carried out while
equipment is out-of-service, activities such as
spraying on a thermal insulation coating for
insulation and corrosion control can be done while
equipment is in operation.
Some clear TICs will dry more opaque when
sprayed onto a surface of approximately 76°C (171°F)
and above. Therefore, to keep the surface visibility,
its temperature should be lower during application.
After application, the temperature can be raised to
as high as 204°C (400°F).
Since there is less precipitation in autumn, this is
also a great time for exterior painting projects,
whether coating tanks for corrosion prevention or
railings to stop ice formation.
Conclusion
While state-of-the-art technology cannot yet
control the weather, it has come a long way towards
providing solutions to help combat its effects on
equipment and infrastructure. Oil and gas and
petrochemical facilities can benefit greatly and
reduce costs by seeking out and employing new
solutions for problems such as CUI, ice formation,
and heat loss or gain.
Many of these ‘new’ technologies now have
decades of successful field service behind them,
reducing the risk to a company that wants to replace
a 20th Century solution with a 21st Century one that
can offer them multiple benefits.
No matter which season, there is an innovative
solution to help combat the impact of increasingly
unpredictable weather and climate conditions and
keep products and assets protected and costs under
control.
References
1. 'Synavax™ Independent Testing Data', available at: https://
www.synavax.com/synavax-independent-testing-data/
2. LEVITIN, R.E. and TRYASCIN, R.A., 'Determining Fuel Losses
in Storage Tanks Based on Factual Saturation Pressures',
IOP Conference Series, Materials Science and Engineering
154, (2016), available at: http://iopscience.iop.org/
article/10.1088/1757-899X/154/1/012022/pdf
Figure 5. State-of-the-art TICs can provide excellent
corrosion prevention with water-based, low VOC
formulations.
Autumn 2018 54