The exclusive Distributor of Belzona in Australia, Rezitech Services PTY Ltd., recently completed a Belzona Composite Pad application project for one of Australia’s leading Oil Refinery Operators and Fuel Retailers. The Client was experiencing significant external corrosion on several of their main pipelines.
Prior to the Composite Pad applications, the Client had used rolled steel plates bonded with Belzona 1111 (Super Metal) to arrest the external corrosion and provide extra strength to the fuel pipes until they could be cut out and replaced.
Considered as an essential part of the downstream side of the petroleum industry, oil refineries are typically large industrial complexes with a myriad of pipelines running throughout. These pipelines transport process fluids around the refinery via various chemical processing units.
In previous years, the Client was bonding between 50 to 100 rolled steel plates a year. Although this traditional method of repair was effective against corrosion, the production of the plates was time-consuming due to the fabrication process being carried out off-site. This resulted in the Client waiting up to three days from the initial order to delivery.
Other issues related to the use of rolled steel plates were the size; a typical plate could be as big as 400x400mm, making it very heavy and difficult to hold in place and would typically require three technicians to complete the bonding process. In addition, some plates would arrive slightly over rolled or under rolled, which would delay the application further. And finally, during the summer months, the plates would become very hot and uncomfortable to handle.
Engineers from Rezitech suggested a Composite Pad using Belzona SuperWrap II as an alternative solution to the rolled steel plates and explained the benefits of this method.
Due to the lightweight properties of the composite pad, it forms perfectly to the required size of pipe and can be applied with just two technicians. The pads can be fabricated on-site by qualified SuperWrap II contractors. The Client can manage a more efficient and proactive maintenance schedule by providing offcuts of the most common pipe sizes to the contractor, enabling them to pre-fabricate and store the pads for future installation when required.
Charlie Farrant, Belzona Technical Specialist for Rezitech, said:
“The Belzona composite pad is made from a carbon fibre composite material that is lightweight yet possesses excellent mechanical properties. As a result, the pad is ideal for use as a ‘doubler plate’ on holed or thin-walled pipes or as a pipe wear pad.”
Such has been the success of the application that the Client is now looking to apply the pads in other areas of the refinery. Belzona has conducted several tests at their facility in Thailand to ascertain the effectiveness of the Belzona Composite Pad on different pipe configurations.
A spokesperson for the oil refinery said:
“This week, we installed our first Belzona composite pad to one of our main fuel lines at our oil refinery. The installation process was simple and effective along with being ergonomically friendly for the installers, given the significant weight difference to that of a steel plate.”
Rezitech has been the sole Australian Distributor for the exclusive range of Belzona repair and maintenance products since 1972. The company provides turnkey maintenance and efficiency solutions and support from on-site technical consultants who can diagnose problems and offer the appropriate solution. Rezitech also provides training for applicators and supervisory services for all Belzona applications.
Over the last seventy years, Belzona has developed a multitude of solutions that allow the Oil and Gas Downstream Industry to maintain the integrity of key assets, to learn more, Click Here.
In Australia I joined Redic Industries in 1981 and became aquainted with Belzona as part of our porfolio the company later changed it’s name to Rezitech Services and I retired in 2012 after a lot of success with Belzona. ( 31 years ) Having met Ron Campbell and Geoff Binks during their travels I enjoy the blogs and information from Belzona .