Reactor Vessel Chemical-Resistant Relining
Failed reactor lining stripped back, attacked steel rebuilt cold, and a chemical-resistant immersion lining applied to return the vessel to process service.
A job completed with Belzona. This describes what the Belzona system does and how it goes on, not a record of a specific project by this distributor.
The challenge
A process reactor handles aggressive chemistry, and the lining that protects the shell is the only thing standing between that chemistry and the steel. Over time that lining breaks down, blisters, and disbonds, and once it loses contact the process media reaches the wall and attacks it. The steel starts to pit and thin, the contamination risk to the product rises, and the vessel is no longer safe to run. The owner needed the shell protected again and the reactor back in process service, without cutting the vessel up or sending it out for a long rebuild.
The Belzona approach
The reactor comes down and the failed lining is stripped back to the steel to show what the process has done to the wall. The interior is grit-blasted to a clean, profiled surface, then the pitted and thinned areas are rebuilt cold with a Belzona 1000 Series composite so the substrate is sound and shaped to take a lining. Over the rebuilt steel, a Belzona 5000 Series chemical-resistant immersion lining keyed to the process media covers the shell, the rebuilt areas, and the welds as one continuous barrier. The vessel is worked to stay on the turnaround clock and goes back ready to run.
- Assess and mapThe interior is inspected to find where the old lining has failed and where the steel has been attacked, and the process media is confirmed so the new lining is keyed correctly.
- Strip and grit-blastThe broken-down lining is stripped off and the shell grit-blasted back to clean, profiled steel so the rebuild and the lining bond to bare metal.
- Rebuild the attacked steelA Belzona 1000 Series composite rebuilds the pitted and thinned areas cold, restoring the wall with no hot work.
- Apply the immersion liningA Belzona 5000 Series chemical-resistant immersion lining goes over the shell, the rebuilt areas, and the welds as one continuous barrier.
- Inspect and return to serviceThe finished lining is checked and the reactor turned back over to the owner within the turnaround window.
The result
- Failed lining stripped and the attacked steel rebuilt in place with no hot work and no plate replacement
- Shell, rebuilt areas, and welds sealed under one continuous chemical-resistant immersion lining keyed to the process media
- Reactor returned to process service without cutting up or replacing the vessel
- Work completed on the turnaround clock by factory-trained and factory-certified Belzona applicators
In the field
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Belzona Houston is the authorized Belzona distributor for South Texas and the Gulf, based in Alvin, Texas, we’ll survey your equipment and recommend the right cold-applied Belzona system, with 24-hour support.