Lined Pipe in Savannah, GA

Savannah's industry moves a lot of acid and caustic. A bleached kraft pulp mill at Port Wentworth, the cellulose mill on the Turtle River at Brunswick, a polyacrylamide complex at Riceboro, chemical terminals on the river and an electric vehicle and battery campus in Bryan County all need pipe that does not corrode. Marspec Technical Products fabricates PTFE-, PVDF- and polypropylene-lined spools and supplies the lined fittings and valves for that duty, with spools shipping from Fairhope, Alabama. Call (251) 625-4949.

Send us a spool drawing, a valve schedule or a photo of what failed and we will quote it, or contact us online.

The coastal corridor, mill by mill

Port Wentworth, Rincon and Riceboro

The Port Wentworth complex has refocused on its bleached kraft pulp mill, which makes fluff pulp and continues under new ownership. A kraft mill is a chemical plant fed with wood: white liquor of caustic and sodium sulfide, black liquor to the recovery boiler, and a bleach plant that generates chlorine dioxide on site and runs sulfuric acid, caustic extraction and hydrogen peroxide stages. Chlorine dioxide and its acidic filtrate are the classic PTFE-lined service in a mill, and PTFE carries caustic extraction and peroxide as well, with PVDF an option on peroxide; polypropylene is available for caustic extraction where a specification calls for it. Upriver at Rincon, a tissue mill and a sulfate turpentine biorefinery add caustic, peroxide and sulfur-bearing streams. At Riceboro, the polyacrylamide complex just raised its capacity for dimethylaminoethyl acrylate monomer by 80 percent. Acrylic acid, acrylamide and acrylate monomers are corrosive and inhibitor dependent, and PTFE-lined spools with lined diaphragm and ball valves keep iron and dead legs out of those units, with PVDF an option on the acrylic acid.

The port, the terminals and the eastside

The Port of Savannah is one of the busiest container ports in the country. Two terminals on the Savannah River that changed hands in 2022 brought about two million barrels of tankage to an operator already holding more than six million barrels of industrial chemicals, pine chemicals and petroleum. Caustic, acids and solvents move through manifolds, hose stations and truck racks that stay tight with PTFE-lined spools and PFA-lined ball valves. On the eastside, the gypsum wallboard plant doubled its capacity in a 115-million-dollar expansion, and the titanium dioxide plant nearby ran the sulfate process, which digests ilmenite in sulfuric acid, until that line closed in 2004.

Bryan County: vehicles and cells

At Ellabell, the electric vehicle plant on 2,284 acres reached full production in October 2024, was built for more than 500,000 vehicles a year at a cost of about 7.6 billion dollars and shares the site with a 4.3-billion-dollar battery cell joint venture. An auto paint shop is a chemical plant: alkaline cleaners, zirconium or phosphate pretreatment, e-coat, deionized water and neutralization. A cell plant is more demanding, with NMP solvent recovery, electrolyte handling where lithium salts release hydrofluoric acid at the first trace of moisture, caustic scrubbers and high-purity water that must never touch bare metal. Lined pipe serves all of it.

Brunswick

Brunswick's industrial history runs through chlor-alkali and pine chemicals, and what runs today is the bleached kraft cellulose mill on the Turtle River, with two recovery furnaces, a lime kiln and on-site chlorine dioxide generation, alongside the auto port on Colonel's Island, which handled 775,565 vehicles in 2023. The cellulose mill's bleach plant, liquor loops and caustic scrubbers are the lined-pipe work in Glynn County.

Water on the coast

Savannah's Industrial and Domestic plant has treated surface water from Abercorn Creek since the 1940s, is permitted for 58 million gallons a day and is being expanded through 2029. The President Street water reclamation plant is designed for 27 million gallons a day, uses ultraviolet disinfection and discharges to the tidal Savannah River. Coagulants, caustic, sodium hypochlorite and fluoride still run through both in PTFE-lined spools with lined diaphragm valves, with PVDF an option on the coagulant and fluoride lines.

What we build for coastal Georgia

Lined spools 1/2" through 12", up to 20 ft, with PTFE, PVDF or polypropylene liners in carbon steel or 304/316 stainless housings, with matching fittings, are on our lined pipe and fittings page. Lined ball, plug, butterfly, diaphragm, check and sampling valves are on our lined valves page. Lined strainers, expansion joints, PTFE spacers, spectacle blinds, sight glasses and solid PTFE pipe ship with them, and for caustic, acrylic acid and sulfuric acid racks in a coastal cold snap we supply clamp-on steam heaters, electric tracing and heat-transfer compound; see our other products.

Built to the spec

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 each lined pipe spool and fitting is spark tested at a minimum of 10,000 volts. Liner ratings are on our technical details page, backed by more than half a century in plastic-lined piping.

Serving Savannah, Brunswick and the coast

Spools for Savannah, Port Wentworth, Garden City, Pooler, Rincon, Richmond Hill, Ellabell, Riceboro, Hinesville, Jesup and Brunswick ship from Fairhope, Alabama, built to field dimensions for shutdowns. Call (251) 625-4949 or contact us online.

FAQ: Lined Pipe in Savannah, GA

What liner do you recommend for chlorine dioxide and bleach plant filtrate at the Port Wentworth or Brunswick pulp mills?

PTFE for chlorine dioxide solution, generator acid and D-stage filtrate, where chlorine dioxide, chloride and sulfuric acid together defeat most alloys short of titanium. PTFE covers caustic extraction, peroxide and the alkaline sewer as well, with PVDF an option on peroxide; polypropylene is available for those alkaline lines where a specification calls for it.

Can lined pipe handle acrylic acid and acrylate monomers at the Riceboro polymer complex?

Yes. PTFE-lined spools carry acrylic acid, acrylamide solution and acrylate monomers, including amine-bearing ones, without iron pickup, PVDF is an option on the acrylic acid, and lined diaphragm valves avoid the dead legs where inhibited monomer can polymerize. We can trace the lines to hold the temperature window the inhibitor needs.

Do you supply lined spools for the liquid terminals on the Savannah River?

We do. Terminal manifolds, hose stations and truck and rail racks that switch between caustic, acids and solvents are a natural fit for PTFE-lined spools and PFA-lined ball valves, since one liner covers the whole product slate.

What should the Bryan County battery and vehicle plants specify for electrolyte, scrubber and high-purity water lines?

PTFE-lined spools and lined diaphragm valves for electrolyte and scrubber service, with heavy-wall liners and vented housings because hydrofluoric acid can appear and permeates PTFE, and PVDF for deionized and high-purity water. All can be supplied in 316 stainless housings where the exterior must be stainless.