Weekly Topic (First week of March): Temperatures are rising and hovering around zero degrees – how do you take measures to prevent freezing?
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As temperatures rise and remain around zero degrees, there is a high risk of pipe freezing, which in turn poses a risk of leaks after thawing. Similar leakage incidents have occurred in the past; what measures do you take to prevent freezing in such situations?
The work wasn’t done properly. There was a sharp drop in temperature before the New Year, and it was required that the water in the pumps be drained. Yet when production resumed this year, the pump casings of several pumps cracked
We have also found that in our case, the metering pump was equipped with a hot water jacket for heating, and due to the low flow rate of water, it cracked from freezing.
Our company’s requirements are as follows: 1. Inspect pipelines that are used intermittently, idle pipelines, as well as shut-down devices or units to determine whether they have frozen, by opening the low points for drainage checks and using nitrogen to purge them； (Technology Department) 2. Check two points along all the heat tracing to see if they are hot (just checking the ends to determine if they are hot may indicate heat transfer; it does not guarantee that the middle part will not freeze) ； (Technology Department) 3. In order to address the potential issues of flicker and arcing, as well as leaks that may occur during the thawing season, organize one emergency drill for dealing with arcing and one emergency drill for dealing with leaks ； (Production Department) 4. Check the flood prevention measures and the accessibility of roads and rainwater drains ； (Engineering Department) 5. Check the waterproofing of the power distribution room and control room roofs to ensure there is no leakage ； (Engineering Department) 6. Check the frost protection of fire hydrants and eye wash stations. (Security Department)
With this kind of weather, and these accidents that occur after thawing, they have been happening frequently at our workplace lately. The asphalt line of the coking unit ahead actually cracked after thawing!
1. All thawed pipelines should undergo a gas-tightness test； 2. For idle equipment, maintenance should be carried out after thawing, especially for moving equipment such as pumps ； 3. Conduct a comprehensive inspection of fire-fighting and emergency equipment.