Lined Pipe in Colorado

Colorado's process industry runs from the Wattenberg field north of Denver, one of the largest natural gas deposits in the country, to the molybdenum mines above Leadville, the steel mill at Pueblo, the brewery at Golden and the semiconductor fabs on the Front Range. Between them they handle hydrochloric acid by the tanker load, sulfuric acid, caustic, flotation reagents, plating baths and ultra-pure chemicals.

Marspec Technical Products has more than half a century in plastic-lined pipe, fabricating PTFE-, PVDF- and polypropylene-lined steel spools and fittings from 1/2" through 12" in Fairhope, Alabama, and supplying lined valves and accessories nationwide. Call (251) 625-4949 or contact us online and we will quote your Colorado job.

Front Range energy: the DJ Basin and the Commerce City refinery

The Denver-Julesburg Basin runs along the east side of the Front Range from near Pueblo into Wyoming, and its Wattenberg field in Weld County has produced from more than 14,000 wells, making it one of the largest gas sources in the United States and a major oil play. Completing and maintaining those wells consumes hydrochloric acid for acidizing, produced water loaded with chlorides, and a steady flow of treatment chemicals, and the acid blending and produced-water facilities around Greeley, Platteville and Fort Lupton are natural homes for lined pipe and lined plug valves. The state's only refinery sits at Commerce City just north of Denver, with the spent caustic, sour water, sulfuric acid and demineralizer chemistry every refinery carries. Gas plants across Weld County add amine and caustic treating.

Hard-rock mining and the Steel City

The Climax mine on Fremont Pass and the Henderson mine near Empire are among the largest primary molybdenum producers in the world, grinding ore and recovering it by flotation before roasting to molybdenum oxide, and a large heap-leach gold mine operates at Cripple Creek and Victor. Sulfuric acid, cyanide destruction chemistry and metal-laden mine water are hard on steel and stainless alike, alongside the flotation reagents and sodium hydroxide every mill uses, and mine water treatment plants that neutralize acid drainage with lime and precipitate metals are permanent installations in the high country. Pueblo has been the Steel City for more than a century and remains one of the larger steel-producing cities in the country, with electric-arc furnaces feeding rail, rod, bar and seamless tube mills, plus a large wind-tower plant. Mill pickling and wastewater neutralization there are lined-pipe services, as are the chloride purge streams from the limestone-slurry scrubbers at the coal-fired units in Pueblo, Craig and Hayden.

Breweries, beef, sugar, chips and water on the Front Range

Golden is home to what became the largest single-site brewery in the world, Fort Collins is a brewing center in its own right, and Colorado ranks near the top of the country in craft breweries. Brewing is a clean-in-place business: 50 percent caustic, nitric and phosphoric acid blends, peracetic acid and hypochlorite move from bulk tanks to use points all day. Weld County is the leading cattle, grain and sugar beet county in the state, and Greeley hosts one of the largest beef plants in the region along with a large mozzarella plant finished in 2017, both of them heavy users of sanitation chemicals and wastewater treatment. The sugar factory at Fort Morgan runs lime, sulfur dioxide and ion-exchange regeneration each campaign. On the technology side, semiconductor fabs in Colorado Springs and Fort Collins and the aerospace and defense manufacturers around Denver and Colorado Springs run high-purity hydrofluoric, sulfuric, nitric and phosphoric acids, solvents and anodizing and plating baths where metal ion pickup is a defect. Municipal utilities from Denver and Aurora to Colorado Springs and Pueblo feed sodium hypochlorite, ferric chloride, alum and fluoride into fast-growing water systems.

Lined piping, valves and accessories for Colorado

Our custom lined pipe spools run up to 20 ft in PTFE, PVDF or polypropylene, in carbon steel or 304/316 stainless housings, with lined elbows, tees, reducers, laterals and instrument tees fabricated to the same standards. We supply lined ball, plug, butterfly, diaphragm, check and sampling valves, lined strainers, expansion joints, spacers, spectacle blinds, sight glasses and solid PTFE pipe, with the rest of the line on our Other Products page. Two Colorado conditions matter. Altitude lowers atmospheric pressure, so a line under full vacuum at 5,000 or 10,000 feet puts less differential across the liner than the same line at sea level, and a liner rated for full vacuum at sea level has margin to spare in Colorado; vacuum ratings by size and temperature are on our technical details page. And mountain winters freeze caustic, hypochlorite and brine on an outdoor rack, so we supply clamp-on steam heaters, electric heat tracing and heat-transfer compound that mount outside the lined spool.

Standards

Our lined pipe and fittings comply with ASTM F1545, fittings conform dimensionally to ANSI B16.5 and are welded to ASME B31.3 by welders certified to ASME Section IX, and every lined pipe spool and fitting gets a minimum 10,000-volt spark test before shipment. Ratings by liner, including vacuum limits at temperature, are on our Technical Details page.

Serving Denver, Greeley, Pueblo, Colorado Springs, Fort Collins and the Western Slope

We ship to Denver, Commerce City, Aurora, Golden, Boulder, Longmont, Fort Collins, Loveland, Greeley, Fort Morgan, Brighton, Colorado Springs, Pueblo, Canon City, Leadville, Craig, Grand Junction and Durango. Send a line list or isometric to info@linedpipe.com, call (251) 625-4949, or contact us online.

FAQ: Lined Pipe in Colorado

Can lined pipe handle the hydrochloric acid used for well acidizing in the DJ Basin?

Yes. PTFE- and PVDF-lined pipe, fittings and lined plug valves are rated for hydrochloric acid at the 15 to 28 percent strengths used in acidizing, and they carry the inhibited blends and produced water without the pitting that destroys stainless. HCl permeates PTFE, so PTFE-lined spools in this service get vented housings.

Does altitude change how you rate lined pipe for vacuum service at a Colorado mine or mill?

The liner sees the pressure difference between the line and the atmosphere, and at 10,000 feet the atmosphere pushes less than at sea level, so most vacuum services are actually easier on the liner. Tell us the elevation and operating temperature and we will confirm the rating from our Technical Details.

What liner do you recommend for CIP chemicals at a Golden or Fort Collins brewery?

PTFE, which covers caustic, dilute acid blends, hot nitric or phosphoric acid and hypochlorite on one liner; PVDF also suits the hot acid lines and dilute or lower-pH hypochlorite, and polypropylene is available for caustic and dilute phosphoric acid blends where a specification calls for it. Lined diaphragm valves give a clean, dead-leg-free shutoff on chemical feed points.

Do you supply high-purity lined pipe for semiconductor and aerospace plants in Colorado Springs and Fort Collins?

We do. PTFE-lined spools and lined diaphragm valves give a smooth, non-contaminating bore for high-purity acids and solvents, with heavy-wall liners and vented housings on hydrofluoric acid, which permeates PTFE, and every lined spool is spark tested at a minimum of 10,000 volts before it leaves our shop.