Plastic Lined Industrial Valves in Louisiana
From Plaquemine down the river to Norco and west to Lake Charles, Louisiana plants move brine, wet chlorine, caustic, hydrochloric acid and spent alkylation acid. Each fluid has a lined valve pattern that suits it and others that fail early. Picking the right one is most of the job.
Marspec Technical Products supplies plastic lined valves for those services and fabricates the lined spools that carry them. Our work in plastic-lined piping goes back more than half a century. We supply Swissfluid PFA- and PTFE-lined valves and build automated valve packages in house; Swissfluid USA supports its national distribution network from its facility in Stafford, Texas. Call (251) 625-4949 or contact us online with a valve schedule, a P&ID or a tag list.
Louisiana duties and the valves that fit them
Brine, chlorine and caustic from Plaquemine to Lake Charles
Shintech's U.S. plants, Plaquemine among them, make about 3.6 million tons of PVC a year. Cell rooms also run at Geismar, Taft and Lake Charles. Wet chlorine, saturated brine and HCl go on lined plug or ball valves with no wetted metal, with a vented plug or ball (vent facing upstream) on the chlorine. There is no titanium trim to ignite if the gas runs dry. Brine sludge gets lined diaphragm valves. Dry gas and liquid chlorine stay in steel.
Fifty percent caustic crystallizes near 54 °F (12 °C), and a January night on the river gets there. Lined plug valves have no cavity to fill with crystals. We carry electric tracing over the valve bodies as well as the spools, using our temperature maintenance products.
Mixed acid, HCl and HF at Geismar
Geismar's MDI and aniline plants sit on a long chain of corrosive steps. Aniline comes from nitrobenzene, made by nitrating benzene with mixed nitric and sulfuric acid, and phosgenation gives off hydrochloric acid. On mixed acid we quote lined plug or ball valves for shutoff and PFA-lined diaphragm valves for feed control. Lined ball valves isolate the hydrochloric acid from the absorbers. The fluorochemical plants at Geismar and north Baton Rouge run on hydrogen fluoride. Anhydrous HF stays in carbon steel with metal-body plug valves, and lined valves belong on the wet side, in scrubbers and neutralization.
Spent acid and spent caustic at the refineries
The refineries at Baton Rouge, Norco, Garyville and Lake Charles run alkylation, caustic treating and sour water units. Spent acid, settler drains and spent caustic go on lined plug valves, which leave no cavity for acid sludge or crystals to collect in. Class 300 lined ball valves, 1" through 3", serve the higher-pressure lines. Lined sampling valves pull spent caustic and acid-strength samples without opening the line.
Sugar, LNG and water on the coast
The cane sugar refineries at Chalmette and Gramercy regenerate ion-exchange resin with hydrochloric acid and caustic. Automated lined ball and diaphragm valves handle that repeating sequence well. LNG terminals at Hackberry and Cameron treat gas with amine and make demineralized water, and lined diaphragm valves fit both. Municipal plants along the river dose coagulant and disinfectant, with lined diaphragm valves on feed and lined ball checks at the metering pumps.
What the lined valve line covers
Ball, plug and diaphragm valves are PFA-lined and butterfly valves PTFE-lined. All mate with ANSI B16.5 lined pipe flanges, and sizes vary by pattern. Our plastic lined valves page has drawings and ratings.
Quarter-turn: ball and butterfly
Lined ball valves run 1/2" through 10", also in reduced port from 5" to 10", and the Class 300 series comes in 1", 1-1/2", 2" and 3". PTFE-lined butterfly valves cover 1" through 42" for brine, cooling water and large dilute caustic headers.
Plug and diaphragm
PFA-lined cylindrical plug valves, 1/2" through 2" full port and 3" through 6" reduced port, cavity-free, with no in-line adjustment, suit brine, spent acid and caustic, and with a vented plug, chlorine gas. Diaphragm valves run 1/2" through 8", with a PFA-lined body, and seal the stem behind a PTFE-faced diaphragm, the right valve for dosing and slurry.
Checks, sampling and sight glasses
Ball checks run 1/2" through 6" and swing checks 1-1/2" through 24". Inline and ball sampling valves and sight glasses come 1/2" through 6", and reactor sampling systems are available for batch reactors.
Automation packages
Chlor-alkali interlocks, regeneration skids and refinery block valves are usually actuated. We fit pneumatic or electric actuators, positioners, limit switches and solenoids to the lined valve. The assembly is tested before it ships, ready to pipe and wire. Send the control signal, fail position and air supply with the schedule.
Fitting valves to the lined pipe
We fabricate custom lined pipe spools 1/2" through 12", up to 20 ft, PTFE, PVDF or polypropylene lined, in carbon steel or 304/316 stainless housings. Our stocked fittings are PTFE-lined, in carbon or stainless steel; PVDF and polypropylene lined to order. Our lined pipe and fittings comply with ASTM F1545. Lined fittings carry identifying markings on their flanges in accordance with ASTM F1545. Gasket and torque guidance is on our technical details page, and our Louisiana fittings page lists the fitting range. For the plants themselves, see our Louisiana lined pipe page, the Baton Rouge page, the New Orleans page and the Lake Charles page.
Serving Baton Rouge, the River Parishes, Lake Charles and the north
Spools and valves ship from Fairhope, Alabama. We serve Baton Rouge, Port Allen, Plaquemine, Geismar, St. Gabriel, Donaldsonville, Norco, Taft, Garyville, Convent, Chalmette, New Orleans and Covington. Lake Charles, Westlake, Sulphur, Hackberry, Lafayette, New Iberia, Alexandria, Monroe and Shreveport are on the list too. Call (251) 625-4949 or contact us online, and we will quote valves and spools together.
FAQ: Plastic Lined Industrial Valves in Louisiana
Which lined valve goes on wet chlorine and brine in a Plaquemine or Geismar chlor-alkali unit?
Lined plug or ball valves with no wetted metal, with a vented plug or ball on the chlorine, and lined diaphragm valves where the brine carries sludge. Dry gas and liquid chlorine stay in steel.
Do the HF units at Geismar and north Baton Rouge use lined valves?
Anhydrous HF runs in carbon steel with metal-body plug valves. Lined ball valves, and diaphragm valves with the PTFE/FPM diaphragm since HF permeates the PTFE face, go on the aqueous HF in scrubbers and neutralization.
How do we keep 50 percent caustic from freezing in valves on a Louisiana rack?
Use lined plug valves, which have no cavity for crystals, and trace the valve bodies along with the pipe. Electric tracing and heat-transfer compound under insulation hold the line above about 54 °F (12 °C).
Can you match lined valves to the existing lined pipe during a Lake Charles or River Parishes turnaround?
Yes. Send the tags with size, pressure class, face-to-face dimension and lining. We quote valves that bolt to the ANSI B16.5 flanges already in the line, with replacement spools if they are needed.