The situation
This project concerned the new construction of a chemical plant with a production process in which the process flow is constantly kept at a high temperature.
The request
Instead of individual electrical tracing wraps on piping systems, valves and instrumentation our customer sought an alternative solution in the form of a temperature-controlled housing in which the piping and valves could be assembled later.
The solution
The solution to this important part of the plant was the assembly of a thermal insulating housing in which the piping system with all associated valves and pressure and temperature sensors are combined and kept at a constant design temperature of 120º C. The challenge for Innclose was setting up intensive co-ordination with the producer of the piping, the selection of the instrumentation, the design of the heating installation and subsequently the electrical installation for the process control system and the heating system. We also had to conceive a solution for the protection of the instrumentation: the temperature resistance guaranteed by the manufacturer was not sufficient to be able to operate at the high temperature of 120º C.
The result
After an intensive engineering phase a series of thermal housings with fully installed pipe racks were accommodated in a series of housings that we designed according to seismic criteria. The units were supplied as fully functionally tested units to the plant in England and could immediately be connected to the process piping network. All electrical tracing wraps and temperature sensors were removed, and the heating function is taken over by a central heating unit designed for 24/24 functionality with a high degree of redundancy.