For the full functionality of this website, JavaScript must be enabled. The following are instructions on how to enable JavaScript in a web browser.
Save to Reading List Published by Callum O'Reilly, Senior Editor Hydrocarbon Engineering, Wednesday, September 4, 2019 at 09:30
Professional industrial fire protection coatings, often referred to as "fire protection" or passive fire protection (PFP) are complex products that must perform a difficult task: provide consistent protection and durability in extreme environments, while also providing total life Cycle cost.
The end users of coatings in the onshore and offshore energy and petrochemical industries have different requirements, but they all need products certified by international standards to provide the required level of safety.
This is a highly competitive market with many obviously similar products available. This makes understanding the stakeholders and their requirements even more important to provide the right products.
At the top of the value chain is the owner-operator (the end user in the event of a fire) whose main desire is a safety solution. They care about price, but this is in the context of durability and minimizing maintenance requirements during the asset life cycle, which may be 20 years or more. If working at sea, they are also very interested in high-quality, durable coatings with a lighter application weight.
Next are the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contractors, who have a shorter period of responsibility (maybe only five years) and hope to meet customer performance requirements through stronger competitive incentives. Finally, where coating and steel meet are manufacturers and painters, as well as subcontractors who are interested in which coating system can be applied to the specified quality level and target price the fastest.
Stakeholders in the supply chain—whether they are asset owners, engineers, manufacturers, or contractors—need to realize that although some coatings are designed (some are certified) to withstand all potential fire hazards, they actually They may only apply to pool fires and not jet and pool fires; the key difference in choosing a coating that may face the two situations.
Most intumescent coatings developed in recent years still rely on rigid formulations. Therefore, when the steel structure undergoes mechanical movement or temperature changes, the performance of many intumescent coatings may not be as good as expected in practice. They are also prone to delamination and cracking and therefore provide very limited integrity. Industry standards have shifted to the use of thermal insulation systems to slow the rate of temperature rise and buy more time for rescue or evacuation.
For 35 years, PPG's PITT-CHAR technology has been trusted to protect people and equipment in hazardous environments around the world.
When considering the development of next-generation intumescent coatings, PPG set out to develop a coating system that was safer, tougher, thinner, lighter, and faster to apply. PPG PITT-CHAR NX draws on the tradition of the original PITT-CHAR product, but has a new formula based on a new research and development cycle. The purpose of this is to bring higher value to customers.
Therefore, PPG has developed a unique product with the flexibility required by the industry, which also provides additional features such as thinness and lightness. PPG PITT-CHAR NX is equally effective in onshore and offshore environments, with no degradation in performance after 20 years of exposure. Because the coating is thinner in application, it needs a smaller volume, but it can still resist pool fires and jet fires, so it can be safely used in either situation with little or no additional material thickness.
The ever-changing paint certification standards are also the driving force behind the development of PITT-CHAR NX. In particular, PPG needed a new coating that meets the latest environmental exposure and fire protection standards, including NORSOK M501 Rev 6, UL 2431, UL1709 Rev 5 and BS 476 for hydrocarbon fires and ISO 22899-1 jet fires-suitable for all types and Dimensions of structural steel and safety critical equipment.
PPG PITT-CHAR NX has also passed the International Maritime Organization's FTP rules and the latest ISO 20902 standard, which is suitable for hydrocarbon fire compartments, such as decks and bulkheads.
Globalization and lower oil and gas prices have put pressure on project costs, leading to the rise of off-site modular or rod-shaped manufacturing technologies. Although this is generally more cost-effective, it does add unique challenges to PFP coatings.
Before assembly on site, prefabricated coated steel usually requires long journeys, sometimes across continents, and climatic conditions vary widely. Any damage to the PFP coating will affect its ability to operate effectively when the structure is in use, or cause expensive repairs and potential start-up delays.
PPG PITT-CHAR NX is extremely tough and flexible, designed to minimize the risk of cracking and delamination during manufacturing, transportation and construction. This toughness provides reliable weathering resistance and excellent corrosion protection throughout the life of the asset.
After installation and when exposed to high temperatures, PPG PITT-CHAR NX will expand to form a strong insulating charcoal, which will significantly reduce the heating rate of the protected item.
Insulation maintains the integrity of the steel, thus gaining critical time for the escape of personnel and the on-demand operation of equipment.
By using carbon fiber PPG PITT-CHAR® CF mesh, the fire resistance of the system can be significantly improved, making it thinner, lighter, and faster than alternative systems.
The addition of carbon fiber mesh not only saves a lot of costs, but also turns the coating system into a composite material, which greatly enhances its toughness, and improves the crack resistance and damage resistance at all stages of the project, making the system safer in extreme environments And sturdy and unexpected load conditions.
Some intumescent coatings are designed and sold for land-based fire protection applications, so they are designed to solve less aggressive pool fires. Due to the aggressiveness it produces, coatings designed for more aggressive jet fires generally require stronger materials and extra thickness.
PPG PITT-CHAR NX is unique in that it provides first-class load capacity and the flexibility to resolve jet and pool fires, whether it is for onshore or offshore oil, gas or petrochemical applications. For PPG customers, this means that they can ensure that a single product can provide protection for any situation without the need for additional materials, thereby providing a safer solution. Where weight is important, the lightness of the coating is an advantage, whether in moving steel parts or in offshore applications. PITT-CHAR NX helps to significantly reduce transportation and construction costs.
The typical application thickness of the previous generation PITT-CHAR is 12 mm, which can be used for 2 hours pool fire protection. The competitive coating is now 10 mm, but PITT-CHAR NX has moved the standard bar under the same circumstances to less than 8 mm.
The lightness of the product also means fewer product applications, but in addition, the formula of PITT-CHAR NX is cured in a unique way, which can save 60% of the application time. The application process of three to four days can be reduced to one day, and the steel can be moved within a few hours after application. In the absence of a topcoat, enhanced environmental performance is also achieved, so material and application time can be further saved.
Author: Peter Scott, PPG protective and marine coatings.
Read the article online: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/petrochemicals/04092019/ppg-introduces-new-intumescent-coating/
KBR and Johnson Matthey will provide their ammonia-methanol co-production technology to Northern Petrochemical's new plant in Alberta, Canada.
Embed the article link: (copy the HTML code below):
This article has been marked as the following:
This content is only for registered readers of our magazine. Please log in or register for free.
Free registration »It is completely free from now, no credit card required.
Already a member? Sign in here
Alarm Performance Optimizer: Lay the foundation for the transformation of alarm management
Join us for a webinar and Q&A session with Honeywell Connected Industrial on November 16th, where they will discuss and demonstrate how to set the stage for the transformation of alarm management.
Copyright © 2021 Palladian Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | Tel: 44 (0)1252 718 999 | Email: enquiries@hydrocarbonengineering.com