Lined Pipe in North Dakota

North Dakota runs a tougher process economy than most people expect: Bakken oil and gas processing in the west, lignite gasification and chemicals at Beulah, two refineries, six ethanol plants, soybean crushing and the beet sugar factories of the Red River Valley. Every one of those plants moves acid, caustic, brine, amine or solvent through pipe that bare carbon steel cannot handle for long, and most of them do it through winters that reach 30 below. Marspec Technical Products fabricates PTFE-, PVDF- and polypropylene-lined steel pipe spools and supplies the lined fittings and valves for exactly that service, with spools shipping to North Dakota from our shop in Fairhope, Alabama.

Call (251) 625-4949 or contact us online with a line list or an isometric, and we will quote lined spools, fittings, valves and accessories to your specification.

North Dakota's process industries and what they put through the pipe

Bakken oil, sour gas and produced water

The Williston Basin around Williston, Watford City and Tioga is the heart of the state's oil and gas business. Gas processing plants there strip hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide from Bakken gas with amine systems, and the rich amine, acid gas and sulfur recovery streams attack plain steel. Produced water from Bakken wells is among the saltiest in any North American basin, and it is hauled, treated and injected into saltwater disposal wells through pipe, valves and strainers that see chloride levels far beyond what stainless steel tolerates. PTFE-lined pipe and PFA-lined plug and ball valves give amine units, acid gas lines, chemical injection skids and brine handling a barrier that does not pit, stress-crack or scale.

Refining, renewable diesel and coal chemicals

The refinery at Mandan, across the river from Bismarck, has run North Dakota sweet crude since the 1950s, and the smaller refinery outside Dickinson was converted to make renewable diesel from soybean and other vegetable oils. Between them they handle sulfuric acid, caustic, amine, sour water and treating chemicals that belong in lined pipe. Near Beulah, the Great Plains Synfuels Plant gasifies lignite into synthetic natural gas and takes off a long list of byproducts: anhydrous ammonia, urea, ammonium sulfate, phenol, cresylic acid, methanol and naphtha. Ammonium sulfate solution, phenolic liquor and hot caustic are classic lined-pipe media. The lignite-fired stations clustered at mine mouth near Underwood, Beulah, Stanton and Center add flue gas scrubbing slurry, which usually runs in rubber-lined pipe, and the acid and caustic regeneration lines of their demineralized water plants.

Ethanol, oilseeds and beet sugar

Six ethanol plants at Underwood, Hankinson, Richardton, Casselton, Spiritwood and Grand Forks can make more than 550 million gallons a year, and the Spiritwood energy park now includes a soybean crushing plant that feeds the Dickinson renewable diesel unit. Ethanol plants run sulfuric acid for pH control, caustic and acid clean-in-place, and antimicrobial chemicals; a crush plant adds hexane extraction and caustic refining of the oil. The Red River Valley grows about a third of the nation's sugarbeets, and the factories at Drayton, Hillsboro and Wahpeton handle lime slurry, carbonation gas, sulfur dioxide, hot juice and strong CIP solutions in equipment that gets cleaned hard every campaign. Lined pipe keeps iron out of the sugar and the solvent, and a PTFE liner handles a line that is acid one hour and caustic the next.

What we build for North Dakota plants

Custom lined pipe spools are the core of our business. We fabricate them in 1/2" through 12" sizes and lengths up to 20 ft, with PTFE, PVDF or polypropylene liners in carbon steel or 304 and 316 stainless housings, flanged to your drawing. Our lined pipe and fittings include elbows, tees, reducers, laterals, instrument tees and flanges, all dimensionally conforming to ANSI B16.5 so they bolt up to existing flanged runs.

For isolation and control we supply plastic-lined valves: PTFE- and PFA-lined ball, plug and butterfly valves, lined diaphragm valves for slurry and solids-bearing streams, lined check valves and lined sampling valves. Our piping accessories round out the system with lined strainers, lined expansion joints, PTFE spacers, spectacle blinds, sight glasses and solid PTFE pipe for the small-bore and high-purity lines.

Temperature maintenance matters more in North Dakota than almost anywhere we ship. Fifty percent caustic begins to freeze around 54 °F, ammonium sulfate and urea solutions crystallize as they cool, and sulfuric acid thickens and stratifies in an unheated rack. Our temperature maintenance products for lined pipe include clamp-on steam heaters, electric heat tracing and heat-transfer compound sized to the liner's limits, so the line stays fluid in January without overheating the plastic.

Built to the standards in your spec

Our lined pipe and fittings comply with ASTM F1545, the governing standard for plastic-lined ferrous metal pipe and fittings. Lined fittings are welded to ASME B31.3 by welders certified to ASME Section IX. Every lined pipe spool and fitting leaves our shop after a minimum 10,000-volt spark test of the liner, and we have been in the plastic-lined piping industry for more than half a century. The technical details page covers liner selection, vacuum and temperature ratings and flange torque data.

Serving Fargo, Bismarck-Mandan, Williston and the rest of the state

We ship nationwide from Fairhope, Alabama, and we routinely build custom spools for plants in Fargo, Bismarck and Mandan, Grand Forks, Minot, Williston, Watford City, Dickinson, Jamestown, Beulah and the Red River Valley. Send drawings and call (251) 625-4949, or contact us online for a quote.

FAQ: Lined Pipe in North Dakota

Can lined pipe handle the hydrogen sulfide and amine streams at a Bakken gas plant?

Yes. PTFE is unaffected by hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide, wet acid gas and amine solutions at the temperatures found in gas treating, and the steel housing carries the pressure. Lined pipe is a common choice for rich amine, acid gas and chemical injection lines where carbon steel pits and corrodes.

Will a lined line survive a North Dakota winter outdoors?

The liner itself tolerates the cold, but the fluid inside often will not. We supply clamp-on steam heaters, electric tracing and heat-transfer compound engineered for lined pipe so caustic, ammonium sulfate and acid lines stay fluid without exceeding the liner's temperature limit.

What liner should an ethanol plant in Casselton or Richardton use for sulfuric acid?

PTFE handles every concentration of sulfuric acid across the full temperature range. It is the liner we recommend and quote, since in a finished spool the liner is a small part of the cost; polypropylene is available for dilute acid at moderate temperature where a specification calls for it, and we can help you match the liner to your concentration and temperature.

Do you supply stainless housings for food-contact service at a Red River Valley sugar factory?

We do. Lined spools and fittings are available in 304 and 316 stainless steel housings as well as carbon steel, and solid PTFE pipe is available for sample and small-bore lines where no metal contact is allowed.