Solution & Implementation
Furmanite managed the project, taking primary responsibility for the hot tapping work and also overseeing subcontractors. By fitting a temporary bypass line and sealing of the main pipeline using inflatable bag stoppers Furmanite was able to replace the connecting 18 and 20” pipework feeding the cyclone. The plant remained on-line throughout and the cyclone was able to continue operating at a flow rate of some 40,000 metres cubed per hour
The initial task was to re-plate the outside of the cyclone, thickness testing of the existing cladding was required in order to assess areas strong enough to weld to. Once complete work began on replacing the damaged areas of pipe work, keeping the plant in operation. Temporary pipe work was installed by hot tapping into two 18 inch tees branching off the existing pipe work, thus avoiding the weakened areas of pipe work, and fitting a 20 inch temporary inlet nozzle onto the cyclone. Furmanite technicians then isolated the damaged sections of pipe work by hot tapping a further three points and inserting inflatable bag stoppers, allowing the waste from the adjacent penicillin fermentation tank to continue to be fed away and the plant to remain in production whilst the damaged pipe work was removed.
For the nearest Service Delivery Center (SDC)
