This technical white paper explores the design, fabrication, and lifecycle considerations for hypochlorite storage tanks, focusing on the use of titanium as the material of choice. Due to the challenges associated with hypochlorite storage, such as corrosive environments, traditional materials like carbon steel and stainless steel often face reduced lifespans. Titanium provides a durable, corrosion-resistant alternative, extending the service life of these tanks significantly. This paper covers essential design elements, compares ASME and API code standards, details fabrication techniques for both shop and field applications, and presents lifecycle cost analyses comparing titanium tanks to alternative materials.
Category Archives: Blog
Best Practice Recommendations for Storing Sodium Hypochlorite in Titanium Storage Tanks
Titanium, grade 2, is an excellent material choice for storage of Sodium Hypochlorite. It is the longest lasting and lowest maintenance solution for storage tanks in this service. There are some key design, fabrication, operation and maintenance considerations to keep in mind to ensure maximum performance and reliability.
Titanium Grade 12 – Alternative Alloy for Cost Reduction & Corrosion Resistance
Titanium Grade 2/2H (UNS R50400) is the workhouse alloy used in the Chemical Processing Industry (CPI) to combat against corrosion and give a long, maintenance-free life. This Grade is essentially pure titanium with a yield strength minimum of 40 ksi and a minimum ultimate tensile strength of 58 ksi for Grade 2H.
Click here to download Whitepaper on Titanium for Industrial Application
Titanium: Available and Affordable Material of Construction for Industrial Applications
When you hear the word ‘titanium’, what do you think? Most people would think aerospace and airplane applications, when it is much more than that. Many also associate the word titanium with ‘expensive’, when in reality, it is actually cost effective.
Many would also think ‘unobtainable’, when it is readily available. While a majority of the titanium used today goes into the aerospace industry, there has been much progress made in the use of titanium in the corrosion control market – in chemical processing, refining, offshore, and other industrial markets. In fact, the use of titanium continues to grow as more and more design engineers, process engineers, reliability engineers, plant engineers, and company executives understand the value of this metal and its alloys, and specify its use for their projects that require corrosion resistance
Click here to download Whitepaper on Titanium for Industrial Application
The Use of Titanium for Heat Transfer in the Chemical Processing Industry
The transfer of heat from one fluid to another is an essential component of all chemical processes. Whether it is to cool down a chemical after it has been formed during an exothermic reaction, or to heat-up components before starting a reaction to make a final product, understanding the elements to design an effective, efficient heat transfer system is the key to cost-effective manufacturing of most chemicals today. This understanding not only includes having the knowledge of various fluids’ physical characteristics and chemical makeup but also flow rates, system temperatures, and allowable pressures and pressure drops.
Titanium, which has been in the heat exchanger service for almost 60 years in refineries and nuclear power facilities, offers several different alloy grades that can be used in heat transfer equipment in the chemical process industry.
Click here to download Whitepaper on Titanium for Heat Transfer in the Chemical Processing Industry
White Paper – Clad Metal Repairs
Clad metal materials are widely used in industrial applications due to their enhanced mechanical properties and corrosion resistance. However, damage can occur to the cladding due to various factors, necessitating a repair. This whitepaper offers specific guidance based on tests performed in Tricor’s shop by welders experienced in welding of Titanium and executing these types of repairs.
Click here to download Whitepaper on Clad Metal Repairs
Fabrication Tips to Prevent Crevice Corrosion
Corrosion resistance charts are a great resource to use to find suitable alloys for a given chemical service. However, pay attention to the footnotes and read supporting literature as well, because those corrosion charts are really only reflecting general corrosion with the posted numerical values. One of the other types of corrosion that needs to be considered is crevice corrosion.
Figure 1 An immersion coil in Tricor’s shop for repair. There are many potential places for crevice corrosion in this design, like where the tubes contact the support beams and the u-bolts around the tubes.
Crevice corrosion is a localized form of corrosion that occurs when a corrosive fluid becomes trapped in the crevices, cracks, or joints of metal surfaces or under deposits. Crevice corrosion initiates in these confined spaces, where the access of oxygen and other oxidants is limited. The presence of stagnant conditions, often caused by capillary forces, allows for the accumulation of corrosive agents within the crevice. Over time, the passive layer, which normally protects the metal from corrosion, can be compromised due to the restricted supply of oxygen and the accumulation of aggressive substances.
There are some important fabrication techniques that can help prevent or reduce crevice corrosion:
- Avoid Overlapping Joints: Overlapping joints can create crevices where corrosion
may initiate. Whenever possible, use butt joints to minimize gaps. - Use Continuous Welds: Specify continuous welds instead of spot or stitch welding to reduce the chances of crevice formation.
- Design to Eliminate Crevices: Design components to avoid features that could trap
fluids or debris, such as sharp corners or tightly fitting parts. - Ensure Good Weld Quality: Make sure that welded joints achieve full root
penetration and avoid undercuts or cracks. - Minimize Complex Weldments: Simplified designs reduce the risk of creating small, inaccessible spaces where crevices can form, improving weld quality overall.
- Avoid Stagnant Zones: Ensure that the pressure vessel design avoids areas where fluids could become stagnant, as this is a primary factor in crevice corrosion. This can include ensuring proper drainage and avoiding dead zones in the design.
If crevices are unavoidable, another approach is to upgrade to a more corrosion resistant alloy in those areas. For example, titanium Grade 7 is generally more resistant to crevice corrosion compared to Grade 2. So, on a titanium Grade 2 vessel design, Grade 7 material can be used in areas where at risk for
crevice corrosion:
- Grade 7 material for lap rings/stub ends on all body flange and nozzle connections.
- Grade 7 filler metal in all process-wetted Grade 2 vessel weld joints.
- Grade 7 material for all vessel internals that have crevices where process fluid may sit or
become stagnant.
By integrating these fabrication practices, the risk of crevice corrosion in pressure vessels can be significantly mitigated, ensuring long-term reliability and safety of the equipment.
Tricor Metals invites you to join us at the 3rd Materials Technology Institute Global Symposium on Feb 25-28, 2024 in Baton Rouge
Tricor Metals invites you to join us at the 3rd Materials Technology Institute Global Symposium on Feb 25-28, 2024 in Baton Rouge. We will be giving 3 of the almost 40 technical presentations and also be available for discussions at a booth in the exhibit hall. Please review the brocure attached.
MTI is a technical organization that sponsors interactive meetings worldwide bringing engineers and subject matter experts (SME’s) together to answer technical questions and solve technical problems. MTI also sponsors research projects to solve technical issues that are prevalent in the chemical industry. Tricor Metals has been a proud member of MTI for over 14 years and actively participates in all of the MTI meetings in North America.
As a Producer Company representative, you can receive a discounted registration (see brochure attached) that gives you access to all of the presentations and exhibit hall, plus an opportunity to interact with technical experts from all over the Chemical Process, Mining and Refining Industries.
To register, contact MTI at 314-567-4111 or www.mti-global.com . For more information, contact Materials Technology Institute or Chuck Young at Tricor Metals – 330-264-3299 x 2500 or cyoung@tricormetals.com .
We look forward to seeing you at the Symposium in February 2024.
Tantalum Heat Exchangers for Hydrochloric and Sulfuric Acid Pickling Applications
For more than two decades Tantalum has proven itself to be a superior material when used in hydrochloric and sulfuric acid steel pickling applications.
Tantalum, being a refractory metal, gets its corrosion resistance from a continuously regenerating oxide layer that occurs during the use in chemical service. The oxide layer is both corrosion resistant and erosion resistant proving itself a superior choice for corrosion resistance and reliability in hydrochloric acid steel pickling applications. Tantalum is totally up inert in the concentrations and temperatures of hydrochloric acid used in steel pickling.
Tantalum heat exchangers utilize it fully welded metal design that has proven to meet the mechanical challenges associated with steel mill operations. Tantalum heat exchangers are smaller than other heat exchangers used in this service and are easily accessible for inspection and cleaning.
The erosion resistance of the tantalum tubes allows for acid velocities through the heat exchanger that improves heat transfer as well as reduce fouling associated with the reprocessing of pickled steel.
Benefits of tantalum heat exchangers in steel pickling applications are:
- Tantalum heat exchangers can be designed to utilize up to 150 psig steam with standard gauge tantalum tubing. The use of higher-pressure steam reduces the heat transfer surface area required at a given heat load, reducing the cost of tantalum equipment over other materials.
- Tantalum heat exchangers are a fully welded metal that are dye penetrant tested, helium leak tested and then hydrostatically tested to ensure a 100% leak free heat exchanger at time installation. Tantalum heat exchangers are considered more rugged than heat exchangers of other materials used in this application I have been known to be damaged in handling, installation, and transportation.
- Tantalum utilizes standard off the shelf, gaskets and hardware that are available from your parts inventory or from local pipe and valve distributors.
- Tantalum heat exchangers can be designed to fit into the mounting and acid piping footprint of carbon block or other heat exchangers.
Probe Blazes New Record For The Fastest Thing Ever Made by Humans
Space09 October 2023
Falling through the Solar System at an astonishing 635,266 kilometers (394,736 miles) per hour, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe has just smashed the record for fastest object ever to be created by human hands.
Parker Solar Probe’s 17th orbit brought the spacecraft within 7.3 million kilometers of the Sun. (NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Steve Gribben)
The event on September 27 marks the turning point of the mission’s 17th loop around the Sun as it collects data on the heated winds of charged particles and violent magnetism that surround our closest star, and comes just under three years after its previous record of 586,863.4 kilometers (364,660 miles) per hour.
At these speeds, it’d be possible for an aircraft to circumnavigate our planet roughly 15 times in a single hour, or zoom from New York to Los Angeles in just over 20 seconds.
Not only is it a record speed, it’s also a record proximity to the Sun – just 7.26 million kilometers above the radiant ocean of plasma we think of as the star’s surface.
Given the Sun is just under 1.4 million kilometers across, this would be akin to standing several respectable paces away from a blazing campfire. Near enough to smell the smoke but not so close that your nose hairs singe.
Achieving such incredible feats wasn’t the result of powerful propellants (at least, not entirely), but more a consequence of a perfectly-timed game of cosmic mini-golf.
For the Parker Solar Probe to get to right where the action is, it needs to slip in and out of the Sun’s corona. Unfortunately we happen to be standing on a mobile launch pad that’s hurtling through space at tens of thousands of kilometers per hour.
NASA used a beefy rocket to line up the shot and putt their heat-shielded ball down the celestial green at a speed intended to help cancel out Earth’s orbiting velocity, and roll it right down the Solar System’s throat.
Timing the probe’s path with the creeping passage of Venus makes use of the planet’s gravity, slowing the probe enough to circle the drain in a slowly-diminishing spiral.
After a total of 24 orbits, the Parker Solar Probe should finally tip over the brink and give the space agency a hole in one; but not before gathering a pile of information that will help us better model the Sun’s behavior.
With another seven laps to go, we will no doubt see these records shattered again, each serving as a reminder of what can be accomplished with a little physics and a whole lot of curiosity.
https://www.sciencealert.com/probe-blazes-new-record-for-the-fastest-thing-ever-made-by-humans