Reactor Vessel Chemical-Resistant Relining
Failed reactor lining stripped back, attacked steel rebuilt cold, and a chemical-resistant immersion lining applied to return the vessel to process service.
The challenge
A process reactor handles aggressive chemistry, and the lining that protects the shell is the only thing standing between that chemistry and the steel. Over time that lining breaks down, blisters, and disbonds, and once it loses contact the process media reaches the wall and attacks it. The steel starts to pit and thin, the contamination risk to the product rises, and the vessel is no longer safe to run. The owner needed the shell protected again and the reactor back in process service, without cutting the vessel up or sending it out for a long rebuild.
Our approach
We bring the reactor down and strip the failed lining back to the steel so we can see what the process has done to the wall. We grit-blast the interior to a clean, profiled surface, then rebuild the pitted and thinned areas cold with a Belzona 1000 Series composite so the substrate is sound and shaped to take a lining. Over the rebuilt steel we apply a Belzona 5000 Series chemical-resistant immersion lining keyed to the process media, covering the shell, the rebuilt areas, and the welds as one continuous barrier. We work the vessel so the crew stays on the turnaround clock and hand it back ready to run.
- Assess and mapWe inspect the interior to find where the old lining has failed and where the steel has been attacked, and confirm the process media so the new lining is keyed correctly.
- Strip and grit-blastWe strip the broken-down lining off and grit-blast the shell back to clean, profiled steel so the rebuild and the lining bond to bare metal.
- Rebuild the attacked steelWe rebuild the pitted and thinned areas cold with a Belzona 1000 Series composite, restoring the wall with no hot work.
- Apply the immersion liningWe apply a Belzona 5000 Series chemical-resistant immersion lining over the shell, the rebuilt areas, and the welds as one continuous barrier.
- Inspect and return to serviceWe check the finished lining and turn the reactor back over to the owner within the turnaround window.
The result
- Failed lining stripped and the attacked steel rebuilt in place with no hot work and no plate replacement
- Shell, rebuilt areas, and welds sealed under one continuous chemical-resistant immersion lining keyed to the process media
- Reactor returned to process service without cutting up or replacing the vessel
- Work completed on the turnaround clock by factory-trained and factory-certified Belzona applicators
Belzona systems used
In the field
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