Personal protection remains a top priority in the demanding environments of O&G operations.
OSHA’s safe touch requirement mandates surfaces to be 140°F in order to prevent burns within five seconds of contact and protect workers from severe burns and injuries.
Meeting these safety standards demands significant advancements in personal protection measures. Asset owners adopt mechanical insulation solutions to keep surfaces within safe touch limits. However, this approach introduces the necessity for regular inspections per CUI protocols and insulation and cladding systems repairs, adding complexity and resource demands.
PPG has developed PPG PITTTHERM ® 909 Spray-on Insulation Coating, a newer silicone-based spray-on insulation coating that transforms personal protection. Applying a single coat to high-heat assets can help maintain safe touch conditions without mechanical insulation. This method upholds stringent safety standards and simplifies the installation, inspection and repair process, as insulation and cladding systems require periodic removal or inspection ports for CUI evaluation, which creates breaks in the insulation, compromising overall integrity. Unlike traditional methods, coated assets undergo straightforward visual checks for atmospheric corrosion to the coating surface. Repairs become simpler, requiring only repair and touch-up of any damaged area.
This shift enhances safety by ensuring surfaces remain within safe touch limits, and it alleviates the inspection burden on maintenance teams.
Advanced coating solutions
Traditional waterborne acrylic or epoxy-based spray-on insulation coatings are insufficient for equipment operating above 350°F. The newer silicone-based spray-on insulation coating addresses this gap with greater temperature resistance, enduring continuous and cyclic temperatures up to 500°F. Field applications and lab tests confirm the coating’s low thermal conductivity, significantly reducing surface temperatures and minimizing heat loss even at high temperatures. This enhances energy efficiency and ensures safe-to-touch surfaces, aligning with ASTM standards. PPG PITT-THERM 909 coating reduces the energy required to maintain the operating temperatures of assets by reducing heat loss, and it protects against accidental burns and injuries by reducing heat transfer to the skin.
Hydrophobic and corrosion-resistant properties
The new coating’s hydrophobic nature makes it highly resistant to water absorption compared to many fibrous insulation materials. It absorbs less than 3% water when submerged for 72 hours, whereas mineral wool exhibits much higher absorption rates. Lower moisture levels enhance insulation performance and operational efficiency. This is particularly beneficial in addressing CUI, a critical challenge that incurs substantial costs, annually estimated at $2.2 trillion globally by the World Corrosion Organization. CUI can lead to costly maintenance, operational disruptions and severe accidents.
Efficient application process
Traditional coatings require multiple layers, which extends the application time and labor costs. The application process for these coatings is often lengthy and laborious, especially for large-scale structures like petrochemical storage tanks. They require 5-10 layers, each ranging from 20-65 mils in thickness, which can cumulatively reach 200 mils in the total thickness of the dry film. The application of each layer and the necessary primer and potential topcoat can extend the completion time to several weeks.
The silicone-based coating can be applied in thicknesses of up to 250 mils per coat. Depending on specific application requirements, only one or two coats are needed, significantly reducing the insulation process’s time and cost. Despite the reduced number of layers, the coating can achieve a higher total thickness of 500 mils. This significantly reduces the time and cost of the insulation process while achieving a higher total coating thickness.
For more information, visit ppgpmc.com/ppg-pitt-therm-909.
