Separator Vessel Internal Lining

The challenge

A production separator corrodes and erodes from the inside as it handles sour, sandy well fluid. The sour service attacks the steel chemically while the entrained sand scours the wall at the inlet and along the bottom where solids settle and travel. Together they thin the shell and the internals, pit the surface, and roughen the metal so the vessel separates fluid less cleanly and loses wall it needs to hold pressure. Left untreated, the metal loss spreads and the separator has to come out of service, with plate replacement or a new vessel the usual alternative.

Our approach

We take the separator out of service and open it up to see where the sour attack and the sand have done the damage. We grit-blast the internals back to clean, profiled steel, then rebuild the pitted and thinned areas with a cold-applied Belzona 1000 Series composite so the surface comes back to profile with no hot work. Over the rebuilt steel we apply an erosion-resistant Belzona 5000 Series immersion lining keyed to the sour, sandy service, putting a continuous barrier between the well fluid and the metal. We work the vessel in stages so the crew keeps moving against the turnaround clock.

1. Assess and mapWe open and inspect the separator to locate the corrosion, pitting, and sand erosion, and confirm the sour, sandy service so the lining is keyed correctly.
2. Grit-blast prepWe grit-blast the internals to clean, profiled steel so both the composite and the lining bond to bare metal.
3. Rebuild metal lossWe rebuild the pitted and thinned areas with a cold-applied 1000 Series composite, restoring profile with no hot work and no plate replacement.
4. Apply immersion liningWe apply an erosion-resistant 5000 Series immersion lining over the steel and rebuilt areas as one continuous barrier keyed to the service.
5. Inspect and return to serviceWe confirm cure and lining continuity, then hand the separator back for the turnaround window.