Lined Pipe in Illinois

Illinois refines close to a million barrels of crude oil a day, ranks among the top chemical-processing states, and converts more corn into ethanol, sweeteners and fermentation products than almost anywhere else in the country. Every one of those operations moves acids, caustics, brines and solvents that attack carbon steel and pull metal ions out of stainless, and that is the job plastic-lined piping was built for.

Marspec Technical Products has spent more than half a century in the plastic-lined piping industry. From our shop in Fairhope, Alabama we fabricate PTFE-, PVDF- and polypropylene-lined steel pipe spools and fittings from 1/2" through 12" and ship them nationwide, and we supply lined valves and piping accessories. If you are specifying or replacing lined pipe anywhere in Illinois, call us at (251) 625-4949 or contact us online to get a quote started.

Illinois industries that depend on lined pipe

Refining from Joliet and Lemont to Roxana and Robinson

Four refineries process roughly one million barrels a day between them, the fourth-highest refining capacity of any state. Two sit along the waterway southwest of Chicago at Joliet and Lemont, the Wood River refinery at Roxana sits on the Mississippi just north of St. Louis, and Robinson serves the southeastern part of the state. Inside those plants, lined pipe carries alkylation sulfuric acid and spent acid, spent caustic and sour water, demineralizer regeneration acid and caustic, and cooling tower chemical feed, and lined plug and ball valves avoid the alloy upgrades those services would otherwise require.

Corn processing, ethanol and fermentation

Illinois is one of the top three ethanol-producing states, with thirteen plants and about 1.8 billion gallons of annual capacity. The corn and soybean complex at Decatur alone grinds on the order of 600,000 bushels of corn a day into dextrose, corn syrup, sorbitol, citric and lactic acid, lysine and ethanol. Wet milling steeps corn in sulfur dioxide water, starch hydrolysis uses hydrochloric acid, fermentation broths are adjusted with sulfuric acid and ammonia, and every vessel is cleaned in place with hot caustic and acid. Hot organic acids with chlorides present will pit stainless; PTFE-lined pipe carries them without contaminating a food-grade product, with PVDF or polypropylene available where a specification calls for it. Evaporators and vacuum strippers add a full-vacuum requirement that our PTFE-lined pipe is rated to meet.

Chemicals, pharmaceuticals and the Metro East

The chemical industry employs about 46,000 people in Illinois and is the state's second-largest manufacturing sector. It stretches from specialty and basic chemical plants in the Chicago area and the Illinois River valley to the long-standing chemical manufacturing cluster at Sauget in the Metro East, with a large ammonia plant planned at Tuscola. In Lake County, active pharmaceutical ingredient facilities at North Chicago depend on solvents, hydrochloric acid and deionized water where any iron, chromium or nickel pickup is a quality defect. PTFE-lined pipe, vented where it carries hydrochloric acid, and lined diaphragm valves give those lines a smooth, non-contaminating bore.

Water, power and metal finishing

The Stickney water reclamation plant southwest of Chicago is the largest wastewater treatment plant in the world, serving over 2.4 million people in the city and 46 suburbs, and treatment plants across the state feed ferric chloride, sodium hypochlorite, sulfuric acid and polymer around the clock. Illinois generates more nuclear electricity than any other state from eleven reactors at Braidwood, Byron, Clinton, Dresden, LaSalle and the Quad Cities, and every one of those stations runs demineralizer acid and caustic and cooling water chemical feed. Chicago-area steel pickling and electroplating shops handle hydrochloric, sulfuric, nitric and chromic acid.

What we supply to Illinois plants

We fabricate to your isometrics and ship complete spools ready to bolt up:

• Custom lined pipe spools up to 20 ft in PTFE, PVDF or polypropylene, in carbon steel or 304/316 stainless housings, 1/2" through 12"
• Lined elbows, tees, reducers, laterals, flanges and instrument tees that conform dimensionally to ANSI B16.5
• Lined ball, plug, butterfly, diaphragm, check and sampling valves
• Strainers, expansion joints, spacers, spectacle blinds, sight glasses and solid PTFE pipe
• Clamp-on steam heaters, electric tracing and heat-transfer compound for lines that must stay warm

Temperature maintenance matters more in Illinois than along the Gulf. Fifty percent caustic begins to crystallize near 54 degrees F, and ferric chloride and hypochlorite lose strength or freeze on an outdoor pipe rack in January. Clamp-on steam heaters and electric tracing applied over the lined spool keep those lines flowing without the cost of a fully jacketed system. The rest of our line is on the Other Products page.

Built to the standards on your spec

Our lined pipe and fittings comply with ASTM F1545. Fittings conform dimensionally to ANSI B16.5, so a lined elbow from us drops into an existing flange pattern. Lined fittings are welded to ASME B31.3 by welders certified to ASME Section IX. Every lined pipe spool and fitting receives a minimum 10,000-volt spark test before it ships. Liner materials, pressure and temperature ratings and vacuum limits are on our Technical Details page.

Serving Chicago, Joliet, Decatur, Peoria and the Metro East

We ship lined pipe and fittings and lined valves to plants across Illinois: the Chicago area and the Calumet region, Joliet, Lemont and the Illinois River valley, Rockford, the Quad Cities, Peoria and Pekin, Decatur, Champaign, Springfield, Robinson and the Metro East towns of Granite City, Roxana, Wood River and Sauget. Send us a line list or a marked-up isometric for a quote. Call (251) 625-4949 or contact us online.

FAQ: Lined Pipe in Illinois

Can lined pipe handle the sulfuric acid service in an Illinois refinery alkylation unit?

Yes. PTFE-lined carbon steel pipe is rated for concentrated sulfuric acid across the temperature range those units see, and lined plug and ball valves eliminate the alloy valves otherwise needed. Send us the concentration and operating temperature and we will confirm the liner against our ratings.

Which liner do you recommend for the corn wet-milling and ethanol plants around Decatur, Pekin and Peoria?

It depends on the stream, but PTFE is the default: it covers dilute sulfuric acid, caustic CIP, steep water and solvents alike with the widest temperature range. PVDF handles the hotter acids and sulfur dioxide water within its rating, and polypropylene is available for dilute acid, caustic and steep water where a specification calls for it. We routinely mix liners within one plant.

Do your lined fittings bolt up to existing flanged piping at a Chicago-area water reclamation plant?

Yes. Our lined fittings conform dimensionally to ANSI B16.5, so they mate to standard class 150 flanges on hypochlorite, ferric chloride and sulfuric acid feed lines without adapters.

How do you keep caustic and hypochlorite lines from freezing through an Illinois winter?

We supply clamp-on steam heaters, electric heat tracing and heat-transfer compound that mount outside the lined spool. They hold 50 percent caustic above its crystallization point and keep outdoor hypochlorite and ferric chloride lines flowing without a full steam jacket.