Internal Cleaning of Pipe Line

Of course. Here are some more:

• Appropriate selection of materials for the fluid being conveyed
• Appropriate level of internal polish
• Chemical sanitisation
• Flushing
• High-pressure water jetting
• Steam sanitisation
• Internal lining
• Etc.

What are you cleaning........ Petroleum, Dairy, solvents, chemical, tar.....?

Size of pipeline?

... and what are the wetted materials and their grade of internal polish?

http://cr4.globalspec.com/thread/85760

Thames Water has removed a "bus-sized lump" of fat mixed with wet wipes that had formed in drains under a road in Kingston, Surrey.
CCTV investigations found the mound of fat had reduced the 70 x 48 cm sewer to just 5% of its normal capacity.

What I find the most incredible is the fact that a "bus-sized lump" is able to fit in a sewage pipe 27" x 19" in size??

Was it a "mini" bus??

T.U.R.P. and antibiotics? Or is that also pigging?

Depending on the fluid in your pipeline, a product like Amertap or Taprogge might do the trick. They are designed to slide through condensor tubes, but if you put a bunch of them in a straight pipeline and increase the flow rate you will get a nice turbulent flow that will make the little suckers bounce around and clean the pipe walls.

This will not be as thorough as pigging, but if repeated often enough it will do the job.

Drew K

Epsom Salts, or X-Lax chocolate, (usual disclaimer) might also work.

The robots are coming...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdrhMQ168fo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiHkETsGdmU

The gasket material or jointing compound needs to be compatable with the proposed cleaning method also.

Getting it wrong results in a lot of mirth and overtime payments for others.

Cleaning anything is always a good job for someone else and a great opportunity for them to learn the systems thoroughly.

BAB

You are right old salt .

Actually i was asking about gas pipelines. i am working in a gas company where MILD STEEL pipe of different diameter let say (4"-12") dumped / stacked mostly for 1-2 year. now during this period internal corrosion occurred. When these pipes welded at site and we do pigging it cant be cleaned completely by using washer pigs or any others pigs.

My question was: Is there any other method of cleaning gas pipe lines instead of pigging which can clean internally and remove corrosion or reduce corrosion?

Well, it's only taken nineteen posts, many in the wrong direction, before additional information comes to light enabling a closer approach to a solution.

It is bizarre that piping is to be installed that is incompatible with the process fluids in the first place to the point where the cleaning of internal corrosion is being considered before installation. As the pipe walls will have been reduced in thickness as a result of the corrosion, surely a hydraulic test is a prerequisite before cleaning? After all, there is no point in cleaning a pipe that is no longer capable of sustaining the pressure of the contents, especially flammable ones like fuel gas. Replacement with more resilient materials would seem a better way to go. Many gas mains these days are installed in plastic pipe, for example.

Very strange.

This has been happening quite often. Improper data confuses all participants and there lot of hula hula about the question being asked. I suggest following to avoid such situation. CR4 admin. should make a format (similar to below) for any one asking for answers.:-

Name of person-

Location-

Details about the question- Application, site location, type of industry ..............

Preferably a photograph of equipment or an sketch.

I hope with such data no one's time will be wasted in assuming the above data.

As has been said, check the thickness and if there has been significant metal loss you will need to replace the pipe.

I would consider replacing it anyway, do a cost benefit analysis to see if it is better to pay to replace it or pay to clean it; either way you will have to pay.

If the pipe is laying exposed, and you choose to clean it I would choose a chemical rust remover. Or you could go with a physical cleaning through sandblasting, I think one of my contractors mentioned a system they used that was a small machine you pushed down the pipe and it would blast the inside as it went.

Drew K

Kashan-

It's not clear to me, probably my fault just ask my wife, but:

Have these pipes already been installed?

If yes, have they already been installed and welded?

If yes, has the gas already been loaded into the pipeline?

If yes, how will it be vented?

If the pipes haven't been put in place yet:

How and where were they stored? Stacked, random on ground, wet atmosphere, etc.

If not done, why weren't plastic caps/plugs specified for the ends of the pipes to reduce oxidation and dirt when it was supplied by the mill?

How heavy or thick is the rust?

These, especially the installed/storage items, would be very valuable in determining a good answer to your question.

Good Luck, Old Salt

I heard Willy Wonka is hiring out his Umpa Lumpas. You might be able to get a good deal.

Oompa Loompa no clean pipe....

They do if the price is right. Please no candy.

Bite the bullet and pig it out.

I don't know but if the pipe is so corroded that you can't run a pig though it, I would really be nervous about running some cleaning solution though it also. How safe do you think it is to run gas under pressure through it possible micro cracks etc? What does ASME say?

Good idea to check ASME.

I think from the conversation so far the OP does not think pigging would be sufficient to clean all or enough of the corrosion to a 'clean enough' state. I think something was mentioned about different sizes and some not being installed yet, both of which make pigging difficult unless launchers and receivers are not already installed adequately.

The premise I am going on is that they have pipe that got left in a damp field and want to use it. Given this, if the choice has already been made to recover and use the pipe and the OP is tasked with such recovery I would look for either a chemical coating that will bond with the rusty metal and leave a smooth epoxy lined finish or find a way to sandblast it back to bare metal (then coat it to prevent future rusting).

Drew K