Removable Insulation Systems for Equipment

Removable Insulation Systems for Equipment Process equipment in industrial plants such as reactors, product tanks, raw material tanks or flash tanks must be insulated according to their operating temperatures. The reasons or advantages of the relevant insulation application are as follows: • Energy Saving, • Process Reliability Protection, • Personnel Protection, • Protection Against Freezing and Winter Conditions, • Fire Insulation, • Sound Insulation, • Environmental Awareness (reducing CO2 emissions, etc.) Energy saving is typically the primary reason for conventional insulation applications. However, particularly in chemical process plants, maintaining process stability and/or reliability is also a major motivation source for insulation applications. Regardless of the reason, once equipment is insulated, the integrity of the insulation system must not be compromised and it must perform close to the design specifications. In particular, changes in parameters established to ensure process reliability, such as raw material (or intermediate product) temperature, according to ambient conditions will have direct effects on subsequent sub-processes and will be factors affecting the entire production. In insulation of equipment such as reactors, product tanks and raw material tanks, in addition to meeting the primary objectives (energy saving, process stability, etc.), parameters determined by taking into account operation and maintenance processes must be considered. In the event that any intervention is needed on similar insulated equipment (routine maintenance, repair, modification, etc.), the first requirement is obviously the removal of the insulation to enable the intervention to be performed. Critical parameters related to this process are: • Insulation removal time, • Disposal of waste from insulation removal, • Insulation reinstallation time, • Insulation performance after reinstallation. To enable the relevant intervention, the insulation removal time and the insulation reinstallation time after intervention are factors determining the total downtime of the equipment. Naturally, these times must be short and the required labor must be easily accessible and cost-effective. On the other hand, control and disposal of waste generated during removal are also situations creating extra labor and extra costs alongside environmental considerations. After all this, the fact that the reinstalled insulation system performs close to the original design specifications is also a reason for preference for operations. Since, as mentioned above, insulation performance is a very critical parameter for both energy saving and process reliability. Conventional insulation methods involve covering the insulation filling material (rock wool, glass wool, nanogel, etc.) of equipment of the type mentioned above and covering the final layer with aluminum or steel alloy sheets. In this type of application, conformance to design performance must be monitored throughout the entire construction process and even periodically controlled after application. Additionally, in case of necessity for maintenance, modification, etc. interventions mentioned above, the relevant insulation will need to be partially or completely removed and reinstalled after the intervention. On the other hand, this situation will lead to the need for a continuously qualified insulation team at the facility and result in extended downtime depending on these removal and installation periods. With next-generation removable insulation applications, the situation is completely different. In these applications with flexible and removable insulation systems, there is no manufacturing requirement on the equipment, and installation, partial or complete removal and subsequent reinstallation can be easily performed by any personnel even without special insulation expertise. No waste is generated in these processes and they are completed in much shorter times compared to conventional insulation applications. Thereby, the equipment downtime is not extended due to insulation requirements. There is no performance change in the reinstalled insulation system since no intervention that would compromise the system integrity is required. Even in case of possible insulation damage, the relevant part can be quickly resolved by manufacturing a replacement. Throughout all these processes, since external labor use is minimized, risks from an occupational safety perspective are also minimized. Osman Çiçekli Industrial Engineer CEO INSPRO Industrial Products