Lined Pipe in Utah

Few states pack as much corrosive chemistry into one valley as Utah does along the Wasatch Front. The Bingham Canyon copper operation runs a smelter whose acid plant turns out hundreds of thousands of tons of sulfuric acid a year, the Great Salt Lake feeds potash, salt and magnesium chloride works, five refineries sit between Salt Lake City and Woods Cross, and a semiconductor fab at Lehi is in the middle of a multibillion-dollar expansion. Marspec Technical Products fabricates the plastic-lined pipe spools and supplies the lined fittings and valves that carry the acid, chlorine, brine, caustic and high-purity chemicals those plants depend on, with spools shipped from Fairhope, Alabama.

Call (251) 625-4949 or contact us online with your line list, service conditions and drawings, and we will quote lined spools, fittings and valves to match.

Metals and acid: Bingham Canyon to Magna

The Bingham Canyon mine southwest of Salt Lake City has ranked as the second-largest copper and molybdenum producer in the United States, and its concentrate goes to the smelter and refinery at Magna. Smelting copper sulfide concentrate produces sulfur dioxide, which the acid plant converts into roughly 830,000 tons of sulfuric acid a year, and the electrolytic refinery that follows runs copper sulfate electrolyte, acid bleed streams, precious metals leach circuits and selenium and tellurium recovery. Weak acid from the gas cleaning train, product acid, electrolyte and flotation reagents are the streams plastic-lined pipe was developed for. PTFE liners shrug off sulfuric acid at every concentration, PVDF handles it to about 93 percent at ambient temperature, lined plug and ball valves give tight shutoff in acid transfer, and lined strainers keep concentrate fines out of the pumps.

Uranium, beryllium and phosphate

The uranium mill near Blanding leaches ore with sulfuric acid, recovers uranium by solvent extraction and precipitates yellowcake, and it has added rare earth carbonate processing to the same circuit. The beryllium mill near Delta processes bertrandite ore from Spor Mountain in a sulfuric acid leach followed by solvent extraction. The phosphate mine at Vernal sends concentrate by slurry pipeline to a fertilizer plant in Wyoming. Each of those operations moves hot acid, loaded organic and strip solution through pipe that corrodes quickly unless it is lined.

The Great Salt Lake brine industry

Solar evaporation ponds on the lake concentrate brine for several industries. The magnesium plant at Rowley, in Tooele County, electrolyzed magnesium chloride brine into magnesium metal and chlorine until production stopped in 2022. Potassium sulfate is produced at Ogden, and salt and magnesium chloride products come from the same ponds. Chlorine, wet hydrogen chloride and hot concentrated chloride and sulfate brines are among the most corrosive fluids in industry and the reason fluoropolymer-lined pipe exists. We also serve the potassium chloride solution-mining and evaporation operations at Moab and Wendover, where saturated brine is pumped, heated and crystallized.

Refining, semiconductors and the Wasatch Front

Utah's five refineries, all in the Salt Lake City area, run about 209,000 barrels a day, nearly two-fifths of the Rocky Mountain region's capacity, much of it on waxy Uinta Basin crude. Alkylation acid, caustic treating, amine, sour water, spent caustic and demineralizer regenerants are standard lined-pipe services in those plants. In Lehi, a 300 mm wafer fab is being built next to an existing fab, and semiconductor manufacturing uses ultrapure water, hydrofluoric and nitric acid, hydrogen peroxide, ammonium hydroxide and solvents in quantities that make metal contamination a defect problem as much as a corrosion problem. PTFE-lined pipe and PFA- and PTFE-lined valves carry those chemicals without leaching ions, with heavy-wall liners and vented housings on the hydrofluoric acid lines. Pharmaceutical and supplement makers along the Wasatch Front and the valley's water treatment plants add CIP acids and caustics, sodium hypochlorite and ferric chloride to the list.

What we supply to Utah

We fabricate custom lined spools in 1/2" through 12" sizes and lengths to 20 ft, lined with PTFE, PVDF or polypropylene inside carbon steel or 304 and 316 stainless housings, flanged to your isometric. Our lined pipe and fittings conform dimensionally to ANSI B16.5, so elbows, tees, reducers and instrument tees interchange with any flanged lined system. Lined valves cover ball, plug, butterfly, diaphragm, check and sampling patterns in PTFE and PFA.

Lined strainers, lined expansion joints, PTFE spacers, spectacle blinds and sight glasses are on our piping accessories page, and solid PTFE pipe is available for high-purity lines. For brine lines that crystallize, caustic that freezes and acid that thickens in a Wasatch winter, our temperature maintenance line of clamp-on steam heaters, electric tracing and heat-transfer compound is engineered for the temperature limits of lined pipe.

Standards behind every spool

Our lined pipe and fittings comply with ASTM F1545. Lined fittings are welded to ASME B31.3 by welders certified to ASME Section IX, and each lined pipe spool and fitting passes a minimum 10,000-volt spark test before shipment. We have been in the plastic-lined piping industry for more than half a century. Liner compatibility data, vacuum and temperature ratings and flange torque tables are on our technical details page.

Serving Salt Lake City, Magna, Ogden, Provo and beyond

We ship custom spools nationwide from Fairhope, Alabama, built to order for plants in Salt Lake City, Magna, North Salt Lake, Woods Cross, Ogden, Lehi, Provo, Tooele, Delta, Vernal, Moab and Blanding. Call (251) 625-4949 or contact us online for a quote.

FAQ: Lined Pipe in Utah

Can lined pipe handle product acid and weak acid at the Magna smelter acid plant?

Yes. PTFE liners are compatible with sulfuric acid from the dilute weak acid of the gas cleaning train to 98 percent product acid (PVDF handles it to about 93 percent at ambient temperature), and the steel housing provides the pressure rating and rigidity a plant acid header needs.

What liner do you recommend for chlorine and hydrochloric acid at a Great Salt Lake brine or chlorine chemicals plant?

PTFE is the right liner for wet chlorine and hydrochloric acid at any concentration, in vented housings because both permeate the liner, and we supply PFA- and PTFE-lined ball, plug and diaphragm valves. Lined carbon steel replaces the exotic alloys those services would otherwise require.

Do you supply lined pipe for high-purity chemicals at a semiconductor fab in Lehi?

We do. PTFE-lined pipe and PFA- and PTFE-lined valves carry hydrofluoric and nitric acid, hydrogen peroxide, ammonium hydroxide and ultrapure water without adding metal ions, and solid PTFE pipe is available for the most sensitive lines.

How do you keep potash and magnesium chloride brine lines from crystallizing in winter?

Saturated brines crystallize as they cool, so we supply clamp-on steam heaters, electric heat tracing and heat-transfer compound sized to the liner's limits. The line stays above its saturation temperature without exceeding the liner rating.