THE INS AND OUTS OF PIPELINE CLEANERS:TESTING AND EVALUATION FOR CHEMICAL CLEANERS

摘要

The numerous reasons for cleaning a transmission pipeline include increasing efficiency, preventing corrosion, increasing operational safety, complying with governmental regulations, and changing pipeline operations. As part of the pipeline cleaning procedure, a chemical cleaning agent is typically used to aid in the removal of various line deposits. With an emphasis on solids characterization, a series of six criteria based upon lab performance using line deposits have been designed to select the best cleaner in a particular application. Combining operational parameters and physical analysis of the line deposits, the choice between an oil soluble and a water soluble chemical treatment is based upon efficacy and operational considerations. The testing criteria then require the optimal agent to be dispersible in the solvent of choice, penetrate solids deposited on the pipeline walls, suspend the line deposits within the cleaning solution, retain solution flowability even with suspended solids, and settle for easier disposal. Each of the above criteria strongly correlate with desired field performance as demonstrated in several applications. Whether a particular deposit is black powder or a solid scale, the use of reasoned parametric design provides for a more efficient and cost effective chemical cleaning solution.