How to Protect Pipeline Coating
Pipeline coating is essential to the gas and oil industry when laying pipe in the ground. Protecting the pipe is important because, without it, the surface of the pipe is exposed to all subsurface abrasion and moisture.
Corrosion is one of the biggest problems these coatings are trying to mitigate. The damaging effect of corrosion on pipelines is costly but also dangerous. The cost and inconvenience of removing and replacing pipe underground is high. But also, there is a need to ensure the pipe is in good condition to keep the product flow inside the pipe and not to leak into the ground.
Fusion Bonded Epoxy Coating
One of the most used coatings for pipelines today is Fusion Bonded Epoxy Coating, also known as Fusion-Bond Expoxy Powder Coating and commonly referred to as FBE Coating. FBE Coatings are thermoset polymer coatings used on steel pipe to prevent corrosion. At average temperatures, the resin and hardener components of the coating remain unreacted. Therefore, high temperatures between 356 and 482 degrees Fahrenheit are required to melt the contents of the powder to a liquid form. Once in a liquid state, the coating can be applied to the surface of the pipe. Heat-assisted, chemical cross linking takes place in a process called Fusion Bonding. The FBE Coating hardens, becoming thermoset, and is permanently and irreversibly bonded to the surface of the pipe.
Fusion Bonded Epoxy has many benefits as it can be applied in more than one layer. FBE Coating is also flexible, so it can remain intact if the pipe needs to be bent during the pipeline installation process. Moreover, FBE Coating has excellent adhesion properties, which make it exceptionally resistant to cathodic disbondment. This superior adhesion aids in the reduction of the overall cost of cathodic protection while the pipeline is in operation.
3LPP - 3-Layer Polypropylene Coating
Another coating that involves Fusion Bonded Epoxy is 3-Layer Polypropylene Coating, also referred to as 3LPP. 3LPP is a multilayer coating that consists of three functional components. The first component is a Fusion Bonded Epoxy primer that is high-performance. The second layer is a copolymer adhesive, with a highly durable polypropylene as the external layer. These three components make 3LPP Coating one of the most durable pipeline coatings available. Like the Fusion Bonded Epoxy Coating, 3LPP has excellent adhesion and is resistant to cathodic disbondment. Moreover, the 3LPP coating protects the pipe while it is in the ground and during transport and handling.
Yellow Jacket Coating
Yellow Jacket Coating is a coating used for pipelines in the gas, oil, and waterworks industries. It comprises two external layers: one layer of high-density polyethylene that is cross-head extruded over top of a rubberized asphalt adhesive.
The benefit of this continuous sheath is that it provides long-term protection to pipelines from corrosion and moisture in many different types of soil conditions. Yellow Jacket coating protects the pipe from machinery handling and any damage during installation. The high-durability of Yellow Jacket coating gives engineers more options for where to use pipe with coating and also provides flexibility in installation schedules.
The Problem of Trenchless Boring Applications
Fusion Bonded Epoxy coating, 3-Layer Polypropylene coating, Yellow Jacket coating, and all the other types of coating protection are excellent at protecting pipe. But what protects the pipeline coating? In many cases, open cuts or trenches could allow pipeline personnel to install the pipe with minimal damage.
These days, open cuts have widely been discouraged due to their high disruption to the environment and surrounding ecosystems. Trenchless Boring Applications have been the balanced answer for the oil and gas industry and environmental activists. Boring underground without digging an enormous trench is less disruptive to the environment than open cutting.
However, trenchless boring is highly damaging to the coating of the pipe. The pipe is dragged through the borehole, enduring incredible tensile pressure and subsurface abrasion. Damaged coatings cannot provide the protection that the pipeline needs underground. Some scars cut right through the coating, exposing the pipe underneath and making it susceptible to corrosion-causing moisture.
The Solution: Drag'N Skin Pipeline Coating Protection
The solution to this problem is Drag’N Skin Pipeline Coating Protection. Drag’N Skin is a patented product and process that protects the coating of the pipe during trenchless boring. As a sacrificial sleeve, Drag’N Skin bears the brunt of the abrasion encountered during a bore, protecting the coating and vastly reducing the need to remove and repair damage on the pipe. Drag’N Skin was explicitly designed to withstand the pressures of trenchless boring. It is a brilliant technology that saves time and money for contractors because it can be applied to the pipe by the contractors themselves. Drag’N Skin is a proactive approach to preventing damage to pipeline coating.
To learn more about Drag’N Skin Pipeline Coating Protection and to see the various sizes it comes in, you can visit the Product section of our website.
To save time and money during your next bore. Do not attempt it without Drag’N Skin there to increase your efficiency. If you are interested in obtaining Drag’N Skin, don’t hesitate to contact us. You can contact us at (587) 570-7009, or you can email us at info@dragnskin.com. You can also contact us through a form on our contact page.