Corrosion Under Insulation (CUI) Defense

Keep It Dry with Pyrogel®: Protect Assets • Improve Process Performance • Reduce Costs

Superior CUI Defense with Pyrogel®

For nearly two decades, Pyrogel has earned a reputation for solving thermal insulation's toughest challenges. It has been engineered from the ground up to protect people, processes, and assets from the traditional enemies of insulation:

  • Physical damage
  • High temperature
  • Water

The risk of corrosion under insulation (CUI) is proportional to the time the asset spends in contact with water. By keeping process assets drier for longer, Pyrogel represents the smart choice for a robust CUI defense strategy.

Pyrogel's benefits extend beyond CUI defense. Its unique combination of four key defense mechanisms also help to maintain stable process conditions sustaining unit performance and profitability.  During maintenance events or turnarounds, Pyrogel can be removed and reused, saving time and reducing expenses.

Video Case Study [3 Min]: A Chemical Company's 10-year-journey with Pyrogel — Maintenance and Process Engineers Discuss Long-term Pyrogel Benefits

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Pyrogel's Four Key Protections Against CUI

Durably Hydrophobic
Keep It Dry

Pyrogel  insulation is manufactured with unique water-resisting protections.  Unlike surface-coated insulations, Pyrogel's durable water resistance is inherent and homogenously distributed throughout, for maximum protection against water ingress, even on cut edges.

Breathable
One-Way Valve for Water

Pyrogel behaves like a one-way valve for environmental or process water, keeping it away from the underlying asset.  In the event that water gets past its primary protection, Pyrogel's breathability ensures that it is quickly released to the atmosphere as water vapor, minimizing the time in contact with the asset and the risk of CUI.

Multi-Layered
Versatile Blanket Format

Pyrogel's versatile blanket wrap format ensures that it is held tightly to the underlying asset, eliminating the potential for water to accumulate at the 6 o'clock position on the pipe. Staggered joints create a tortuous path for liquid water, helping prevent contact with the underlying surface.

Thinner Profile
Exposed Surface Area

Pyrogel's class-leading thermal conductivity reduces the required thickness. A thinner profile results in a smaller surface area presented to the elements, further reducing the risk of moisture coming in contact with the underlying surface.

Keep It Dry. Prevent CUI with Pyrogel.

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Pyrogel Saves Time and Reduces Costs During
Turnarounds and Routine Maintenance

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Schedule Assurance

Pyrogel's unique composition allows turnaround (TAR) teams to stay on schedule. Pyrogel does not absorb water, so jobs won’t be delayed by rainfall or snow. Many sites have also restarted operations before jacketing is installed.

Freddy Cutting Pyrogel

Multi-Purpose, Single SKU

Pyrogel's flexible format can adapt to pipes and vessels of all shapes and sizes. Complex geometry? Not a problem. Pyrogel is easy-to-install and rolls can arrive onsite within hours, perfect for last-minute, scope change.

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Reduce Costs by Reusing

Pyrogel can be easily removed and reused, saving not only the cost of purchasing new insulation but also other associated non-productive fees. This makes inspection and maintenance cycles faster and simpler.

Jet-Fire-Slow

Corrosion Under Fireproofing (CUF) Defense

Pyrogel XTF incorporates all of the CUI defense benefits of Pyrogel XTE and adds passive pool-fire and jet-fire protections to deliver class-leading CUF defense.  Pyrogel XTF can deliver hydrocarbon pool-fire protection for up to 4 hours, and jet fire protection up to 2 hours. Pyrogel XTF can also be used to meet the requirements of API 521 for the sizing of pressure relief systems.

Learn More About Pyrogel XTF →

Featured Project Background

Pyrogel Delivers Operational and Maintenance Benefits for Diverse Facilities...

Sitewide TAR

U.S. Midwest Refiner Reinsulating Hot Process Pipework in Sitewide TAR

A Midwest refinery selected Pyrogel to replace degraded mineral wool and calcium silicate on hot service pipework during a 45 day TAR. Despite heavy rainfall during the TAR, the insulation phase was completed 8 days ahead of schedule.

Pyrogel was applied to a range of pipe sizes and select equipment for heat conservation and CUI defense. Pyrogel’s unique ability to protect the assets allowed the site to restart before the jacketing was completed. This was the first utilization of Pyrogel on this particular refinery, the reliability leader elected to use Pyrogel on the TAR based on planned use on an upcoming Tier 3 project. Pyrogel XTE was added to the plant specification.

South American Project Profile

South American Petrochemical Complex

Persistently wet insulation resulted in aggressive CUI on a high-pressure steam line. Massive heat loss during rain events led to steam sheds and process shutdowns. Pyrogel was selected to replace water absorbent mineral wool and calcium silicate insulation.

Now, Pyrogel keeps the steam line dry and operating efficiently, supporting downstream process stability, process efficiency, and estimated annual energy savings of $1.3 million.

Ethane Cracking

Coastal Ethane Cracking Facility

Pyrogel and Cryogel® were selected to re-insulate a South Asian Ethane cracking complex damaged during a fire event. Undetected CUI led to loss of containment.
 
Before the site was permitted to restart it had to demonstrate to the local authorities that it had an effective CUI defense plan in place. Pyrogel and Cryogel was subsequently selected to protect ten process columns in the facility, totaling almost 2 million ft2. The versatile format of both products supported faster application rates, enabling the facility to restart units earlier.

steam vault insulated with pyrogel xte

Steam Network at U.S. Mid Atlantic University

In the event of precipitation, the university's network was unable to maintain the required level of service. Determined to resolve the problem, the team put a variety of thermal insulations under challenging trials, before deciding to use Pyrogel® XTE throughout the network.

When insulating vaults with Pyrogel, the university immediately noticed that they were getting steam capacity back. More steam was making its way to end users, so the university was able to reduce the amount of steam energy being produced. Pyrogel also eliminated the need to purchase an additional boiler to expand its network.

Pyrogel: Backed by a World-Class Technical Team

Pyrogel has established a reputation for solving some of thermal insulation's toughest challenges. To do so, we reimagined the role of thermal insulation in your  facilities and built a world-class technical services team to support your needs.  No matter how complex your insulation challenge, we invite you to take advantage of our global experience and innovation.  
CUI Resources

To learn more about our CUI solutions, fill out the form to the right or explore our resources below.

Product Datasheets [English]

For additional languages, please visit our datasheet library

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