In every processing facility, you have feedstock and product that need to get from point A to point B. Piping is the vehicle that moves these liquids and gasses through a refinery or chemical processing plant. They can be made of steel, cast iron, copper, plastic, or other materials depending on the environment and materials being transported. Segments of pipe are often joined together using either bolted flanges or by welding pipes together. The major difference between piping and pipelines is that pipelines transport materials long distances between separate facilities or for distribution. Piping on the other hand is made to transport gasses and fluids, such as water or chemicals, within a single facility.[1]
There are several standards and recommended practices that apply to piping systems, including but not limited to:
- API 570, Piping Inspection Code - Inspection, Repair, Alteration and Rerating of In-Service Piping Systems, which provides guidance on how to determine which piping systems are most susceptible to CUI.
- API RP 574, Inspection Practices for Piping System Components, which discusses inspection practices for piping, tubing, valves, and fittings.
- API RP 578 - Material Verification for New and Existing Alloy Piping, which provides guidelines for a material and quality assurance system to verify that the composition of the alloy components of a piping system are consistent with the specified construction materials.
- API RP 583, Corrosion Under Insulation and Fireproofing, which covers the design, maintenance, inspection, and mitigation practices to address external CUI as it applies to pressure vessels, piping, storage tanks, and spheres.
- ASME PCC-2 - Repair of Pressure Equipment and Piping, which provides methods for repairing equipment and piping within the scope of ASME Pressure Technology Codes and Standards after it has been placed into service.
- ASTM STP 880, Corrosion of Metals Under Thermal Insulation, which provides information on corrosion problems that can occur on thermally insulated plant equipment and piping components if the insulation becomes wet.
References
Related Topics
- Aboveground Storage Tanks (ASTs)
- Boiler Tubes
- Boilers
- Bolts
- Coker Units
- Cooling Towers
- Crude Distillation Unit (CDU)
- Deaerators
- Fired Heaters
- Fixed Equipment
- Flanges
- Flare Systems
- Furnace Tubes
- Glass-lined Equipment
- Heat Exchangers
- HF Alkylation Units
- Hydrocracking Unit
- Hydrotreater
- Pressure Relieving Devices (PRDs)
- Pressure Vessels
- Rotating Equipment
- Vacuum Distillation Unit (VDU)
- Valves
Relevant Links
Topic Tools
Share this Topic
Contribute to Definition
We welcome updates to this Integripedia definition from the Inspectioneering community. Click the link below to submit any recommended changes for Inspectioneering's team of editors to review.
Contribute to Definition