Lined Pipe in Maryland

Maryland does not refine crude or pour steel anymore, but it makes vaccines and biologics along the I-270 corridor, manufactures catalysts and bulk chemicals on the Curtis Bay waterfront, treats more wastewater to Chesapeake Bay nutrient limits than almost anywhere, and processes poultry across the Eastern Shore. Those plants run on caustic, acids, sodium hypochlorite, solvents and high-purity water, and Marspec Technical Products fabricates the lined pipe spools and supplies the lined fittings and valves that carry them. We ship spools to Maryland from Fairhope, Alabama. Call (251) 625-4949 to discuss your line.

After more than fifty years of lining steel pipe with PTFE, PVDF and polypropylene, we know what each liner can and cannot do. Contact us online with your service conditions and we will recommend the right one and quote it.

Maryland industries that depend on lined piping

Biologics, vaccines and pharmaceuticals

The stretch of Montgomery County from Rockville through Gaithersburg and Germantown to Frederick holds one of the densest concentrations of biologics and vaccine manufacturing in the country, with a second cluster of bioprocessing in Baltimore. Cell culture and purification trains run on water for injection, buffers, clean-in-place caustic and phosphoric or nitric acid, and solvents. Water for injection runs in orbital-welded, electropolished 316L sanitary systems; the deionized utility water and the chemical feed around it belong in lined pipe and must not pick up iron, nickel or chromium from the pipe wall. PTFE-lined pipe and PFA-lined diaphragm valves give a chemically resistant, smooth, fully drainable wetted surface with the pressure rating of a steel housing, which is why they show up in utility and CIP distribution throughout these plants.

Baltimore's industrial waterfront

South Baltimore's Curtis Bay, Hawkins Point and Fairfield districts are the state's heavy chemistry: catalyst manufacturing that consumes sulfuric acid, caustic and aluminum and silica chemistry, fertilizer and bulk chemical terminals that transfer acids and caustic from barge and rail, asphalt and coal export terminals, and the Port of Baltimore's own tank farms. Nearby generating stations run demineralizer regeneration on sulfuric acid and sodium hydroxide, and the nuclear plant at Calvert Cliffs and the liquefied natural gas export terminal at Cove Point on the Chesapeake add demineralized water and amine treating to the list. Every tank-to-process transfer line in these facilities is a candidate for PTFE- or PVDF-lined spools and PTFE-lined plug valves instead of alloy.

Water, wastewater and the Chesapeake

Maryland's wastewater plants have been upgraded for enhanced nutrient removal to protect the Chesapeake Bay, and the two large plants serving Baltimore at Back River and Patapsco, along with the regional plants in Montgomery and Prince George's counties, feed methanol or glycerin for denitrification, ferric chloride or alum for phosphorus, caustic for alkalinity and sodium hypochlorite for disinfection. Drinking water plants in Baltimore and the Washington suburbs add fluorosilicic acid and corrosion inhibitors. Hypochlorite and ferric chloride destroy carbon steel and attack most stainless grades, which makes PTFE-lined pipe with PTFE-lined ball valves the answer for chemical feed and transfer lines, with PVDF for ferric chloride and for dilute or lower-pH hypochlorite.

On the Eastern Shore, poultry processing around Salisbury and the lower counties runs the same chemistry at smaller scale: caustic and acid clean-in-place, peracetic acid and hypochlorite sanitizers, and dissolved-air-flotation wastewater systems dosed with ferric and polymer. Hagerstown and Cumberland round out the picture with food, paper-converting and specialty manufacturing that have their own acid and caustic lines.

Lined pipe, valves and accessories for Maryland

We fabricate custom lined pipe spools and supply lined fittings from 1/2" through 12", in carbon steel or 304 and 316 stainless housings, lined with PTFE, PVDF or polypropylene and built to your isometric, up to 20 ft per straight spool. Lined elbows, tees, crosses, reducers and laterals match the spools in liner and flange standard. Lined valves cover ball, plug, butterfly, diaphragm, check and sampling patterns in the same size range.

Our piping accessories round out the system: lined strainers and expansion joints, PTFE spacers, spectacle blinds, sight glasses and solid PTFE pipe. For outdoor chemical feed lines at a wastewater plant or a tank farm, our temperature maintenance products, clamp-on steam heaters, electric tracing and heat-transfer compound, keep 50 percent caustic from crystallizing and keep ferric chloride and viscous polymer solutions flowing through a Maryland January. Vessel accessories, custom PTFE machining and fluoropolymer coating are listed under other products.

Standards behind every spool

Our lined pipe and fittings meet ASTM F1545, and our fittings conform dimensionally to ANSI B16.5. Lined fittings are welded to ASME B31.3 by welders certified to ASME Section IX, and every lined pipe spool and fitting is spark tested at a minimum of 10,000 volts before it ships. Each liner's pressure, full-vacuum and temperature ratings are published on our technical details page.

Serving Maryland from the Bay to the mountains

We supply lined piping to Baltimore, Curtis Bay, Dundalk, Sparrows Point, Columbia, Rockville, Gaithersburg, Germantown, Frederick, Hagerstown, Cumberland, Annapolis, Salisbury, Cambridge and Lusby. Custom spools built to order, shipped nationwide by truck from Fairhope, Alabama. Call (251) 625-4949 or contact us online and we will put a quote together.

FAQ: Lined Pipe in Maryland

Are lined pipe and valves suitable for CIP and buffer lines in an I-270 corridor biologics plant?

Yes. PTFE-lined spools and PFA-lined diaphragm valves resist caustic, acid and solvent CIP chemistry and add no metal ions to deionized utility water or buffers, which is why they are used in utility and CIP distribution at biologics and vaccine sites; water for injection itself stays in orbital-welded, electropolished 316L.

What liner do you recommend for sodium hypochlorite and ferric chloride at a Chesapeake Bay wastewater plant?

PTFE: it handles both, warm hypochlorite and lines that see multiple chemicals included. PVDF handles ferric chloride and dilute or lower-pH hypochlorite at ambient temperature, and polypropylene is available for the ferric chloride where a specification calls for it. Pair the spools with PTFE-lined ball valves and lined strainers.

Can lined pipe replace alloy transfer lines at a Curtis Bay chemical or catalyst plant?

In sulfuric acid, caustic and most acid-and-salt services, a PTFE-lined carbon steel spool, or PVDF away from strong caustic, carries full flange ratings and outlasts alloy at a fraction of the cost. Send us the chemistry and temperature and we will confirm the liner.

How do you ship lined piping to Maryland?

Spools are fabricated in Fairhope, Alabama and ship nationwide by truck. We fabricate custom spools to the dimensions you send and quote a fabrication time with the price.