Plastic Lined Piping Accessories in Louisiana

Louisiana runs chlor-alkali cell rooms at Plaquemine, St. Gabriel and Geismar, and refineries along the Mississippi and the Calcasieu. It also has 11 raw sugar mills that grind cane from late September into early January. Most lined accessories in the state go in, come out or get inspected during a turnaround. Marspec Technical Products supplies them. Call (251) 625-4949 or contact us online.

We fabricate lined spools in Fairhope, Alabama, and the accessories go out with them. Send a turnaround scope, a tag list or a P&ID, and we will quote the whole package.

Turnaround isolation and fit-up

Positive isolation starts at the flange. A lined spectacle blind turns from open to closed without leaving the joint, so the isolation point is ready for the next outage. When a replacement valve is shorter than the one it replaces, a solid PTFE spacer closes the gap. In thick sections a steel-armored spacer holds its shape under bolt load, where plain PTFE would cold-flow. For a gap no standard spacer fits, we machine one from PTFE to the measured dimension.

Refinery alkylation acid and spent caustic give these parts the most work. Spent sulfuric acid carries sludge, so a lined strainer belongs ahead of the transfer pump. A PTFE expansion joint at the pump keeps vibration out of the header. Caustic treating units cut fresh 50 percent caustic to working strength, and a lined mixing tee can do that blending in the line.

Drying acid and hot caustic at the cell rooms

The chlor-alkali plant at Plaquemine makes chlorine, caustic soda, ethylene dichloride and hydrogen. The one at St. Gabriel lists sulfuric acid with its chlorine, caustic soda and hydrogen. Cell rooms dry chlorine gas with concentrated sulfuric acid before compression. A sight flow indicator on the drying acid circulation lets an operator check flow at a glance, and glass handles sulfuric acid well. Wet chlorine permeates PTFE, so its lined spools are built with vented housings.

Caustic is the heat problem. Evaporator product at 73 percent caustic turns solid around 145 °F, so fully jacketed pipe and fittings carry heat through every flange on that line. A 50 percent line needs less. Electric tracing over heat transfer compound does it, with a clamp-on steam heater wherever a valve or low point cools first. Our Baton Rouge and Lake Charles pages describe these complexes.

Vessel accessories at Geismar

Geismar's plants make MDI and aniline, ethylene oxide, PVC and chlor-alkali products, fluorochemicals, methanol and ammonia. Their reactors, and the acid and caustic tanks beside them, are where vessel accessories belong. A sparger puts gas or steam into a tank below the surface. A dip tube feeds liquid below the surface too, so it does not splash or mist. Where lined pipe meets a vessel, a nozzle liner continues the fluoropolymer through the nozzle bore.

Reactor sampling systems pull a representative sample from a closed reactor without exposing the operator. A lined tank bottom valve mounts flush with the tank floor, so the tank empties completely. The River Parish plants below Geismar are covered on our New Orleans page.

Eleven sugar mills, one short season

In one season, Louisiana's 11 raw sugar mills ground about 15.8 million tons of cane and made about 1.88 million short tons of raw sugar. The harvest normally runs from late September through early January, and grinding time lost then cannot be made up. Evaporators scale through the season and are cleaned with caustic and acid. Lined strainers protect the cleaning pumps, and sight flow indicators show the chemical moving. Solid PTFE pipe suits small-bore, low-pressure sample and drain runs.

Spools, valves and standards

Spools from our Fairhope shop run 1/2" through 12" and up to 20 ft. Each has a PTFE, PVDF or polypropylene liner inside a carbon steel or 304/316 stainless housing. We supply the lined fittings and the valves that bolt to them. Every lined spool and fitting is spark tested at a minimum of 10,000 volts. Liner temperature limits, liner thicknesses, flange dimensions and torque tables are on our Technical Details page.

• Louisiana's industries, from Shreveport to the Gulf
• Lined valves for Louisiana service
• Lined fittings and turnaround fitting lists

Serving Louisiana

We serve Baton Rouge, Port Allen, Plaquemine, St. Gabriel, Geismar, Gonzales, Donaldsonville, Convent, Garyville, Norco, Taft, Chalmette and New Orleans. Lake Charles, Westlake, Sulphur, Lafayette, New Iberia, Thibodaux, Alexandria, Monroe, Bogalusa and Shreveport are on the list too. Send the turnaround scope early, and tell us your required date when you request a quote. Call (251) 625-4949 or contact us online.

FAQ: Plastic Lined Piping Accessories in Louisiana

What accessories belong on a Louisiana turnaround scope for a lined acid or caustic line?

Lined spectacle blinds at the isolation points and PTFE spacers wherever valve face-to-face dimensions change. Add lined strainers ahead of pumps and PTFE expansion joints at the pump connections. Send the tag list with flange ratings and liners, and we will quote them with the spools.

How should a Louisiana chlor-alkali unit heat a 73 percent caustic line?

With fully jacketed pipe and fittings, since the product solidifies around 145 °F and one cold flange can plug the line. PTFE's 450 °F limit leaves room for the steam the jacket needs.

Which vessel accessories suit acid and caustic tanks at the Geismar plants?

Dip tubes for subsurface filling, spargers for gas or steam, and nozzle liners where lined pipe meets the vessel. Reactor sampling systems handle closed sampling, and lined tank bottom valves let a tank drain completely.

Can solid PTFE pipe replace lined steel pipe at a Louisiana sugar mill?

Only on small-bore, low-pressure runs such as drains, vents and sample lines. For pressure service and larger sizes, PTFE-lined steel pipe carries the load in its steel housing.