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Glass-lined Equipment

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Glass-Lined Equipment is a corrosion resistant material used in varying processes of operation from production of pharmaceuticals to specialty chemicals and polymers. The strong glass-lined equipment prevents materials exposed to harsh chemicals, such as acids, alkalis, water, and other chemicals, from becoming corroded and causing failure within the pressure equipment. Thus this type of equipment can keep a particularly long service life in environments where service conditions are difficult and other equipment would quickly become unfit for service.

Aside from just being resistant to corrosion, glass lined equipment is also resistant to contamination from dissolved metals or alloys, which can dissolve into damaged metal parts. It’s able to handle a diverse range of operating conditions and is much easier to clean then unlined equipment. For these reasons, while it’s more expensive than unlined equipment, it tends to be much more cost-effective in the long run due to its increased service life.

While the use of glass-lined equipment can provide several benefits, it has several drawbacks as well. While is very useful for preventing damage from most corrosive substances, glass lined equipment is still vulnerable to hydrofluoric acid and hot concentrated phosphoric acid. Both of which can easily damage, and in some cases, even dissolve the glass lining on the equipment. Moreover, glass lined equipment tends to be more brittle than steel or other metals and has a lower tensile strength than they do.

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Articles about Glass-lined Equipment
September/October 1995 Inspectioneering Journal

If it's glass-lined, chances are the environment is very corrosive to most metallics. In general, once the glass lining is breached, through-wall corrosion doesn't take very long. An effective maintenance, operation and inspection program will go...

Authors: Greg Alvarado
Partner Content

Antea delivers highly flexible risk-based asset integrity software with 3D Digital Twin integration to optimize maintenance, reduce risk, and improve mechanical integrity for oil and gas, power generation, and chemical plants and facilities....


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