1、 Industry demand
With the continuous reduction of energy, the country has put forward strict insulation requirements for energy consuming households, and insulation is now also known as the fifth energy source. Therefore, it is urgent for petrochemical enterprises to improve their insulation technology and reduce energy consumption.
The main purpose of insulation design for equipment and pipelines in petrochemical plants is to:
(1) Reduce the heat loss of equipment, pipelines, and their components during storage, transportation, and production processes to lower energy consumption;
(2) Reduce the temperature drop of the medium during transportation to facilitate the smooth operation of materials and systems;
(3) Reduce or maintain the working environment temperature, improve the working environment, prevent fires caused by hot surfaces, and prevent burns to operators.
Therefore, the insulation design of equipment and pipelines in petrochemical plants is an important link related to optimizing processes, stabilizing operations, ensuring safety production, improving production capacity, improving labor environment, energy conservation and efficiency improvement, and technical management in petrochemical enterprises.
2、 Industry pain points
The performance of traditional insulation materials deteriorates rapidly, resulting in poor structural strength and a thin top and thick bottom phenomenon, which makes pipelines prone to thermal joints and causes serious heat loss. Uneven insulation and excessive heat loss result in a decrease in temperature and pressure at the end of the pipeline, leading to an increase in boiler load and operating costs. Traditional insulation materials lack waterproof effect, leading to severe corrosion of pipelines and posing significant safety hazards.
The construction of irregular pipelines is very inconvenient, and the insulation layer thickness is too thick, which is neither aesthetically pleasing nor easy to maintain.
3、 Problem solving
Aerogel blanket has the characteristics of high flexibility, low thermal conductivity, super hydrophobic, easy processing and construction, durability and so on. It can significantly reduce the thickness of the insulation layer, minimize heat loss, and have excellent energy-saving effects. The material has good structural strength, high compressive strength, stable performance, and long service life. Has good waterproof effect, which greatly prevents pipeline corrosion. It can significantly reduce installation time and labor, making it easy to cut materials and install according to complex shapes, bends, and space limitations.
Used for insulation of crude oil leaching tanks to ensure medium fluidity, and for insulation of low-temperature media and finished oil tanks to reduce evaporation and pressure safety.
4、 Typical case
(1) Spraying thermal insulation coating on petrochemical gasoline storage tanks
—After the construction of the multifunctional storage tank special insulation coating, the average surface temperature in summer is only 32 ℃, and the evaporation rate is reduced from the original 0.3% to 0.01%, and there is no need to turn on the refrigeration equipment throughout the day.
(2) Petrochemical asphalt tank top insulation
—Air gel coating is directly applied for construction, which has obvious heat preservation and energy saving effect. After construction, the surface temperature of tank top is reduced from about 110 ℃ to about 46 ℃.
(3) Oil field crude oil storage tank insulation
—The application of aerogel coating for thermal insulation is convenient, energy-saving, beautiful and durable. After construction, the surface temperature is tested: when the ambient temperature is 15 ℃, the surface temperature is reduced from 80 ℃ to 20.2 ℃.
