High Pressure Stainless Steel Tubing’s Role in Instrumentation in the Petrochemical Industry

Most petrochemical processes are operated under high pressure and high temperatures for an extended period of time. This includes a variety of applications from transporting hydrocarbon fluids to processing petroleum products. Accidental leaks and bursts are major concerns in these processes which can stem from the use of material and components unsuitable for these conditions. For the safety and reliability of operations in your Northern California petrochemical facility, Swagelok’s high-pressure stainless steel tubings provide a high-strength, leak-free solution. 

The Need for High-Pressure Stainless Steel Tubing

While manufacturing standards for each petrochemical product may differ, many of them involve chemical processing under elevated conditions. These can be risky pressure conditions to work with as the chances of leaks and failures rise exponentially when:

1. The components are improperly installed
2. The components used do not meet the required specifications
3. There are many potential leak points, i.e., connection points and fittings

When the piping system in a facility is connected with multiple fittings—or when one component does not meet the proper standard—leaks are highly likely to occur.

An added issue in this highly pressurized system is the nature of the chemical being processed. While most organic chemicals may be less corrosive, petrochemical processing involves acidic and basic minerals. When pipes of carbon steel are exposed to these harsh chemicals, the corrosion of metal can create further damage to the manufacturing system.

High-pressure stainless steel tubing is the solution to these issues faced in petrochemical production. Depending on the requirement, these types of tubing may be used for up to 60,000 psig. The use of stainless steel provides resistance against corrosion. Moreover, the high-pressure tubing is far more robust compared to the piping systems. Here are further benefits that these tubing systems provide:

1. Tubing does not require as many connections as the pipes, reducing the number of potential leaking points. 
2. Tubes can be bent to navigate around the corners without the need to install any fittings. 
3. Leak-free sealing is possible when tubes are connected with specialized high-pressure fittings.

Orbital Welding: Easy Fabrication of High-Pressure Tubing

When further reliability is required from a high-pressure petrochemical tubing system, it is better to use welded tubes. However, welding tubing is not an easy task. Most tubings are of smaller diameter and are thin-walled, so a single misjudgment of weld parameter can damage the entire tubing system.

Care should be taken so as to not lose the strength and integrity of the tubing to withstand extreme process conditions. Thin-walled tubings can burn through easily or distort when there is a slight fluctuation of heat input. Stainless steel further escalates this issue as its low thermal conductivity minimizes the heat distribution throughout the metal causing the tubings to warp or bend. Furthermore, there are challenges to operator safety as stainless steel welding is the source of hazardous hexavalent chromium which is detrimental to human health. 

Orbital welding can make it easier to overcome the challenges of welding high-pressure stainless steel tubing. Orbital welding (also known as gas tungsten arc welding, or GTAW) means: 

1. It protects the weld from contamination through shielding
2. Continuous welding facilitated by automation prevents uneven heating, minimizing issues like warping or distortion 
3. The use of different weld heads and monitoring system help protect operators from hazards 
4. The continuous and controlled process help reduce tubing welding completion time and lead to better quality 

Swagelok High-Quality Solutions for Petrochemical Processing

Swagelok provides a range of high-pressure stainless steel tubing as well as orbital welding systems that you can use in your petrochemical facility. Our tubing systems are fabricated following ASME Code for Process Piping, B31.3 and are suitable for very high-pressure fluid handling (up to 60,000 psig). The 316/316L stainless steel provides high resistance to corrosion and is also suitable to use at high temperatures.

Orbital welding systems such as Swagelok’s M200 Orbital Welding System can perform ASME BPVC Section IX quality welds. When used with high-performance weld heads, the results are consistent and reliable welds that are cost-effective for your petrochemical facility.

With quality high-pressure stainless steel tubing and orbital welding systems from Swagelok, you can meet the demanding requirements of the petrochemical industry, making the manufacturing process safe and reliable—leak-free, corrosion-resistant, and capable of withstanding high pressure and temperature.

To find out more about how Swagelok Northern California can help your petrochemical industry meet all requirements with its range of high-pressure stainless steel tubing and high-quality solutions, contact our team today by calling 510-933-6200.

About Morgan Zealear | Product Engineer, Assembly Services

Morgan holds a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from University of California at Santa Barbara. He is certified in Section IX, Grab Sample Panel Configuration and Mechanical Efficiency Program Specification (API 682), and he is well versed in B31.3 Process Piping Code. Before joining Swagelok Northern, he was a manufacturing engineer at Sierra Instruments, primarily focused on capillary thermal meters for the semiconductor industry (ASML).