Experience in piping and operational management regarding materials that easily cause pipeline blockages? !
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As the title indicates, the material transported through our plant’s pipelines contains salts that are nearly saturated (including sodium carbonate, sodium chloride, etc.). When the temperature drops, these salts cool and crystallize, leading to blockages in the pipelines. This creates difficulties in operation and maintenance: we are forced to install numerous flanges along the pipelines, and when the flow rate decreases, it is necessary to remove these flanges in order to clean the pipelines. Do you also have this kind of trouble? How was it solved multiple times?
The following suggestions are offered: 1. It is recommended to enhance insulation to ensure that the temperature of the material remains above the crystallization temperature at all times. 2. During pipeline installation, a certain slope must be maintained as per the design, in line with the flow direction of the materials. 3. In the piping system, a drain valve or on-site drain valve should be installed at the lowest point, so that any residual liquid can be drained off after shutdown. 4. Operators should enhance their professional skills to ensure the stable operation of the system. Under normal circumstances, as long as the system is operating stably, the problem mentioned by the poster will not occur. Or even if it occurs, as long as it is handled properly, there won’t be any major problems.
Suggestions: 1. Insulate the pipelines used for transporting materials; 2. Raise the temperature of the materials conveyed through these pipelines to ensure that it remains above the crystallization temperature； ⒊Apply 1.0 steam tracing to the material conveying pipeline.
The second floor covered it very comprehensively; learn from it! However, it’s better to follow your design by installing many flanges on the pipes, and then consider what was mentioned on the second floor: insulation is sufficient as long as it’s above the crystallization temperature; it doesn’t need to be too high. Then there’s no problem.
That’s right, thank you. We haven’t installed steam tracing pipes, and it’s a good suggestion – after all, this material needs to be sent to the evaporator to be heated and vaporized!
Is it really necessary to install a drain valve for every pipe tray?
Insulation is necessary, but too low a flow rate is also a cause of pipe blockage.
Why isn’t a heat tracing jacket used when the temperature is low?
1. Install flushing water at the pump inlet or at the lowest point of the pipeline; when switching to the backup pump, it is possible to flush the inlet and outlet of the original pump. The flushing liquid from all pipelines can then be collected in a storage tank. 2. Install sight glasses in the relevant pipelines, such as at the pump inlet. If there are fluctuations visible in the sight glass, it indicates that the material has not crystallized. When flushing the pipeline with water, if the color or flow rate in the sight glass changes to that of water, it means the material has not crystallized, and the water can be used to displace it
Consider appropriate heat tracing methods; keep the pipes as short and straight as possible, minimize elbows, avoid dead ends, and ensure that the pipes have a slope, preferably a large one
Heating + insulation are essential; I won’t go into detail about insulation. There are two ways of providing heating: steam heating and electric heating. Steam tracing has a wide range of applications; for electric tracing, constant-temperature electric heating tapes can be used, as they are simple and fast to implement, and are likely to be widely used in the future
1. There are more than two types of heat tracing. 2. Electric heat tracing is widely used
Hehe, the phrasing isn’t precise enough; thanks for pointing that out~~