Hydrocarbon Processing

Decrease Total Costs, CUI and Improve Thermal Efficiency

Hydrocarbon Processing is perhaps the single most energy intensive industrial process that we rely upon to power the modern world. For just petroleum refining alone, never mind chemical processing, it takes about 6000 Trillion BTUs of energy to convert crude oil into gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuel and other fuel oils that drive the world’s developed economies over the course of a year.

Be it in the form of steam, combustion or electricity, a tremendous amount of heat energy is needed to convert crude stocks into useful products. No matter what the form, virtually all of this heat energy is derived from oil and gas.

While refineries and chemical plants have long used insulation to maintain efficient operating temperatures and protect personnel, the use of insulation has never been more critical than it is today as given geopolitical instabilities and increased global demand, the cost of energy is near record highs and unlikely to drop significantly for the foreseeable future.

With respect to insulation, the hydrocarbon industry as a whole still tends to rely on decades old insulation materials that are relatively inefficient compared to our thin flexible aerogel blankets:

As this table clearly indicates, thermal performance can be improved by three to almost five times without increasing the size of insulation systems.

For example, a Six Inch Schedule 40 line operating at 350°F might typically use an insulation system consisting of 3 inches of Calcium Silicate and an Aluminum Jacket. Utilizing the same jacket, but replacing the Calcium Silicate with just 0.75 inches of SpaceloftTM blanket reduces BTU lost per running foot per hour by 17%.

Reduce Material and Installation Costs

In addition, the thermal leverage of our aerogel technology can be applied in the form of reducing the size and weight of existing insulation systems, leading to significant reductions in the cost of insulation materials and installation, while still realizing some improvement in thermal efficiency as noted above.

Again referring to the pipe service and Calcium Silicate Insulation system referenced above, the 3 inch, rigid preformed Calcium Silicate weighs about 20 pounds per linear foot.

If instead of Calsil an aerogel blanket system were used, the thickness would drop from 3 inches to 0.75 inches, and weight from 20 pounds per linear foot to only 1.5. When this reduced weight and thickness is combined with the inherent flexibility of the blanket, installation is accomplished in a fraction of the time that it would ordinarily take.

As for jacketing, the aerogel system can be fabricated to include an integrated cover, resulting in single step installation for even greater savings.

Even in cases were plant operators might still wish to use an aluminum jacket, since the diameter of the pipe plus insulation is greatly reduced, the amount of aluminum needed and associated costs are reduced by 25%.

Similar gains in thermal efficiency and cost reduction can also be realized against other insulation materials besides Calcium Silicate.

Moisture and CUI:
Aerogels or Cellular Glass

It’s an unfortunate fact of life, no matter what steps are taken to prevent the intrusion of moisture and water, they still find their way into the insulation systems. In an ideal world, the insulation system is non-wetting, and the moisture or water stays between the insulation and the pipe or process component. As such, gravity takes it’s course and the water eventually falls out somewhere down the line through a gap on the underside of the insulation system.

Unfortunately the world is not ideal as all insulation materials except our Spaceloft™ and Pyrogel^® Materials, as well as Cellular Glass absorb moisture. In fact, some other insulation materials can absorb up to 400% or more of their own weight as water. This not only leads to insidious, unpredictable and costly failures due to CUI, but essentially renders the insulation non functional from a thermal perspective.

While Cellular Glass can match Spaceloft and Pyrogel with respect to moisture and water resistance, it cannot touch the thermal efficiency, ease of use and durability of these materials.

The thermal conductivity of our materials is 3.5 times lower than that of Cellular Glass, and we’re 25% lighter. Our aerogels are also flexible, whereas Cellular Glass is an unforgiving rigid and brittle material. Vastly improved thermal efficiency, much thinner, lighter and flexible constructions lead to significant cost reductions for installation labor.

In addition, due to its inherent brittleness, cracks can form in Cellular Glass, thereby providing a path for water to enter the insulation system. Aerogels will not provide this same opportunity.

For more information, please visit the Literature Center for the Product Data Sheet and MSDS.