Environment

and Safety
J. PETERSEN, S. O’HEARN and M. RABEH,
BP, Houston, Texas

Optimize your insulation to reduce costs

Corrosion under insulation (CUI) is a common problem
that is shared by the oil and gas (onshore and offshore), refin-
ing, petrochemical, power and manufacturing industries. CUI
refers to the external corrosion of steel piping and vessels under
insulation due to the penetration of water (FIG. 1). Inspection
technologies for detecting CUI are limited, and the probabil-
ity of detection depends greatly on the extent of inspection and
insulation removal. CUI often remains undetected until the in-
sulation is removed or a leak occurs. This type of corrosion is a
common root cause for loss of primary containment (LOPC),
leading to health, safety and environment (HSE) incidents,
equipment repairs and unplanned downtime. Costs associated
with such events can escalate into millions of dollars.
At the design phase, project teams often engineer and plan
to insulate much more equipment than is necessary. As a re-
sult, both the risk of CUI and the lifecycle cost of insulation in-
creases. Thorough front-end engineering and proper insulation
specifications can greatly reduce CUI risk and lifecycle cost.
The justification for insulation should be made both during the
design phase and after a facility is operating to ensure that in-
sulation coverage is optimized. After a facility is in operation,
it is important to verify the assumptions made during design,
to determine if any insulation can be permanently removed
and to verify that insulation was installed per specification. An
inspection and maintenance plan for insulation will increase
short-term cost, but it can greatly reduce long-term CUI risk, as
well as help reduce HSE incidents, production and repair costs
associated with potential LOPC.
CUI risk and cost of insulation on pressure equipment can
result in:
• HSE incidents
• Lost or deferred production
• Higher initial installation cost
• Higher insulation inspection/maintenance cost
• Higher CUI inspection cost/decreased inspection quality
• Regulatory and reputational consequences.
Challenge the need for insulation. Due to limited data at
the design stage, it is common practice for the project team to
use conservative assumptions when estimating process proper-
ties. This approach leads the project team to recommend the in-
stallation of insulation on equipment (e.g., piping, vessels, tanks,
etc.) where it may not be needed. This increases potential CUI
risk to equipment where it should not exist from the beginning.
Challenge heat conservation insulation. To address this
problem, BP evaluated the need for insulation on equipment on
operating platforms in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) using the op-
erating data available. The approach was kept simple. A heat loss
transfer study was performed on all equipment that was insulat-
ed for heat conservation (FIG. 3). Process simulation tools were
used to accurately calculate the heat loss without insulation.
Conservative assumptions were used for ambient conditions in
the simulation (e.g., high wind velocity and low ambient tem-
peratures). The following two questions were then answered to
determine if insulation would be required for conserving heat:
1. Is a heater present in the system that can compensate
for the heat loss if the insulation is removed?
2. Are there operability reasons for keeping the insulation
(e.g., separation efficiency)?
Challenge personnel protection insulation. Engineer-
ing specifications and regulatory authorities frequently list the

Solution. The best prevention for CUI is no insulation at all.

As such, any insulation that is not required for heat/cold con-
servation, personnel burn protection, condensation prevention
or acoustic control should be permanently removed. Where
insulation is required only for personnel burn protection, the
insulation should be replaced with caged burn protection or a
FIG. 1. Image of active CUI in a facility.
thermal insulating coating system (FIG. 2).
Hydrocarbon Processing | APRIL 2018 85
 Environment and Safety

maximum allowable surface operating temperature for equip- 1. In the past 365 d, did the temperature of the fluid
ment (typically in the range of 140°F–160°F) without person- passing through the equipment get high enough
nel protection. Above this temperature, personnel protection is for a duration long enough to heat the equipment
installed. Note: ASTM’s “Standard Guide for Heated System above the acceptable surface operating temperature?
Surface Conditions that Produce Contact Burn Injuries” pro- Note: Temperature readings in the field can be used
vides guidance on how to determine acceptable surface operat- to support this—field temperature readings should
ing temperature for industrial equipment. reflect worst-case conditions (i.e., ideally, the highest
For personnel protection insulation, BP analyzed operating process and ambient temperature).
data trends to determine if equipment was operating at or above 2. Are there planned changes to the process (i.e., new
the maximum allowed surface operating temperature (FIG. 4). wells or new units) in which the temperature of the
Four questions were answered to determine the need for per- fluid is expected to exceed the acceptable surface
sonnel protection insulation: operating temperature?
3. Is the equipment normally accessible to human touch
(e.g., a height of 0 ft–7 ft above walking levels and
laterally 0 in–18 in from any walkway or walk space)?
4. Is the fluid inside the equipment stagnant or at a dead
end (e.g., relief valve inlet piping and drain lines in
which relieving or draining activity length is too short
to increase the temperature of the equipment above
acceptable surface operating temperature, or so short
that it does not result in significant risk)?

Understand insulation options and minimize CUI risk. In-

sulation is used in industry on many types of equipment, includ-
ing pressure vessels, tanks, piping, buildings, structural steel and
junction boxes. Typically, insulation has one or more purposes
based on assumptions made during design and is used to keep
the equipment from contacting the atmosphere directly.

Heat/cold conservation. Heat and cold conservation is a

common type of insulation used to decrease the heat lost to or
gained from the environment. This type of insulation is used to
help maintain process temperatures and acts as personnel pro-
tection. If insulation is required for process temperature reasons,
then choose an insulation material and design that will minimize
the chance of CUI. Some insulation considerations for minimiz-
FIG. 2. Thermal insulating coating system applied in place of
ing the impact of CUI are:
conventional insulation to prevent CUI.
Personnel
protection
evaluated
Heat conservation
evaluation
Is insulation Yes
required for heat Keep insulation
conservation?

Can heat input Is insulation

No
Yes No
be increased to make up required for personnel Remove insulation
for the heat loss? protection? Is the
Is temperature Yes Is the fluid No equipment Yes
of the fluid above in the pipe normally
maximum allowed? stagnant? accessible?
No
No Consider replacing Consider replacing
Yes
insulation with burn insulation with burn
Is there an cage or coating cage or coating
operability reason for
No
keeping insulation?
No Yes
Remove insulation
Yes
Keep insulation

FIG. 3. Heat conservation insulation flow diagram. FIG. 4. Personnel protection insulation flow diagram.

86 APRIL 2018 | HydrocarbonProcessing.com

• Ensure that a robust insulation specification and quality
control plan for installing insulation is in place.
• Choose an insulation material with low-moisture
permeability and low-water retention characteristics.
• Minimize the use of insulation blankets. Where insulation
blankets are used, ensure that they are installed with
the seam at the bottom and/or a drain hole at the
bottom to allow water to drain.
• Design insulation installation to allow water to drain.
• Minimize or eliminate insulation on flanges/bolting,
valves and instrumentation.
• Minimize insulation penetrations (e.g., supports,
nozzles). Ensure adequate spacing between insulated
equipment and adjacent structures/equipment to allow
for the installation of insulation without incurring
penetrations to the insulation jacketing. Consider using
load-bearing insulation on piping to eliminate insulation
penetration at supports.
• Ensure that coating under the insulation is appropriate
and is applied correctly.
• Consider installing shelters around high-consequence
insulated equipment to prevent precipitation from
contacting equipment.
• Design insulation supports to allow drainage and
minimize contact with equipment.
• Choose a jacket material that does not interfere
with CUI non-destructive examination (NDE).
Personnel protection. This type of protection is installed on
equipment where the temperature could cause injury if person-
nel encountered it and insulation for heat/cold conservation is
not required. Where personnel protection is required, solutions
to consider are:
1. Protective cage with standoffs
a. Choose a design that allows visual inspection
to be performed (i.e., use an expanded metal cage
and not perforated jacket)
b. Choose a design that minimizes crevice corrosion
risk between the standoff and the pipe/vessel
2. Insulative coating
a. Potential limitation with a coating is that ultrasonic
testing (UT) will not work through some of
these coatings, and the coating would have to be
removed if UT spot measurements or UT scans
were to be executed
b. Consider the temperature limit of the coating
c. Consider temperature cycles during startup/
shutdown of equipment when choosing a coating,
as coating failure can occur if the rate of temperature
change exceeds that which the coating can handle
3. Insulation
a. If insulation must be used for personnel protection,
pick a material and design that will minimize
the chance of CUI (see considerations under
heat/cold insulation)
b. Where personnel protection is required on very hot
equipment, a protective cage may not work; also, if
the equipment operating temperature is too high, a
protective cage may reach temperatures higher than
Environment and Safety
the maximum allowed surface operating temperature
c. Where insulation is installed as a barrier between
a potential release of flammable fluid and a very
hot surface, a protective cage cannot be used.
Where there is a differential temperature between the equip-
ment and the ambient air, condensation can occur and cause
external corrosion issues. Insulation (or insulative coating) to
prevent condensation can be installed on such equipment (see
considerations under heat/cold insulation).
Acoustic insulation can be used to mitigate noise from pro-
cess equipment. Typically, this type of insulation is localized
(e.g., on a valve). An alternative to insulation is mandating the
use of hearing protection or double hearing protection around
the equipment. If insulation is installed, refer to considerations
for heat/cold insulation to minimize CUI risk.
Insulation materials and their properties vary greatly. Con-
sult with your insulation vendor to determine the best insula-
tion solution for your situation. Generalized properties of typi-
cal insulations include:
• Mineral wool: Retains water, is cost effective and has
very good insulating properties.
• Closed cell foam glass: Should not retain water,
high material/installation cost and moderate
insulating properties.
• Calcium silicate: Retains water, has a moderate
material/installation cost and good insulating
properties. Note: Calcium silicate made prior to
Idrojet s.r.l. & Idrokid s.r.l.
proudly presents...
...your full line of heat exchangers maintenance product
AERIAL BUNDLE EXTRACTOR
AUTOJET E930 / I 930-5 SERIES 2000
STRADDLE CARRIER SERIES 20T
SELF PROPELLED BUNDLE EXTRACTOR
TRUCK MOUNTED BUNDLE EXTRACTOR STUD PIGGING SYSTEM MACHINE
Idrojet s.r.l. Idrokid s.r.l.
Via Luigi Pirandello s.n. Via Luigi Pirandello s.n.
95040 Piano Tavola (CT) - ITALIA 95040 Piano Tavola (CT) - ITALIA
Tel. +39 095 7131125 - Fax +39 095 391446 Mobile +39 3356472562
email:info@idrojet.com
website:www.idrojet.com
email:info@idrokid.com
website:www.idrokid.com
Select 161 at www.HydrocarbonProcessing.com/RS
 87
 Environment and Safety

2002 can leach out corrosive chemicals if wet. ings, and a significant amount of capital can be saved through
• Cellular perlite: Should not retain water, has a high optimizing the installations’ insulation.
material/installation cost and moderate insulating CUI imposes high safety and financial risks to a facility. It can
properties. be seen from the methodology implemented in this work that
• Flexible elastomeric foam: Should not retain water, the risks and costs associated with CUI can be significantly re-
has a high material/installation cost and moderate duced by utilizing operating conditions and field data. Removal
insulating properties. of the insulation, where it is not required, will reduce the likeli-
• Insulation blankets: Retain water, have a high material/ hood of process safety consequences and/or financial losses due
installation cost and low insulating properties. to plant shutdowns (production losses) and repair costs.
• Insulative coatings: Should not retain water,
have a high material/installation cost and various MUHANNAD RABEH is a Principal Process Engineer in the
insulating properties Discipline Engineering Team supporting Gulf of Mexico (GoM)
operations for BP America. With 13 yr of experience
in process and facilities engineering, he specializes in process
Findings and takeaways. BP has evaluated insulation require- optimization and process safety improvement. Mr. Rabeh
ments for piping for several offshore platform assets. The results holds a Bch degree in chemical engineering and material
are shown in TABLE 1. Approximately half of the evaluated lines sciences from the University of Oklahoma.
can have the insulation removed or replaced with cages or coat-
SHAWN O’HEARN is an Inspection Engineer supporting
deepwater operations in the GoM for BP America. He has
TABLE 1. Evaluation of four offshore platforms in regards to more than 10 yr of experience in inspection, integrity
insulation requirements management and mechanical engineering in the upstream
and midstream oil and gas industry.
Platform Platform Platform Platform
1 2 3 4
Lines with insulation to 31% 24% 47% 10% JONATHAN PETERSEN is a Senior Integrity Management
be permanently removed Engineer, supporting deepwater operations in the GoM
for BP America. He has more than 25 yr of experience in
Lines with insulation to 42% 44% 14% 26% engineering and integrity management positions in the oil
be replaced with a burn and gas, refining and production industries.
cage or coating

LIVE WEBCAST: Thursday, April 19, 2018

10 a.m. CDT / 3 p.m. UTC

Maximum Performance & Minimum Emissions:

A New Process Burner Retrofit Option for Fired Heaters
Matthew Martin Modern plants need environmentally compliant burners that operate safely with
Senior Product Line Manager low oversight or operator intervention. To meet this need, Honeywell UOP Callidus
Honeywell UOP has developed an innovative burner technology ideal for new or existing wall fired
petrochemical and reformer furnaces that delivers a compact, high performance, easy
to install, low maintenance solution.
Join Matthew Martin, Senior Product Line Manager and Honeywell Fellow, who has been
working in the combustion industry for 25 years, for an informative webinar to learn more
about this latest development in Callidus burner technology.
Targeting challenges faced by plant operators, Matthew will highlight testing scenarios
with rigorous simulations and offer recommendations to close performance gaps and
drive operational excellence.

Lee Nichols Register For Free: HydrocarbonProcessing.com/Webcasts

Editor/Associate Publisher
Hydrocarbon Processing

88 APRIL 2018 | HydrocarbonProcessing.com
Reproduced with permission of copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited
without permission.