Hydrocarbon Processing - March 2021 - 79

Maintenance and Reliability
13's anodes and a special tool plating to a
thickness of 0.001 in (FIGS. 1 and 2).
Lowering costs through selective
plating. Selective electroplating is a cost-

effective repair method for several reasons.
The first is that it is portable. Whether
the job is in a shop or out in the field, selective plating can be conducted almost
anywhere. It can also be mechanized or
automated for minimal operator intervention. Repairs can be made in-situ for
unplanned downtime situations, which
mitigates the costs of disassembly, transportation and re-assembly.
Secondly, costs and downtime are
also reduced due to the minimal amount
of pre- and post-machining required.
The specific area needing protection or
repair must be masked off. By following
the appropriate preparatory steps for the
procedure, the deposit will adhere without issue. Due to the precision and accuracy of selective plating, there is often no
need for post-machining, as the deposit
can be plated to size.
Finally, repairs are fast. Once the repair case has been evaluated, and if machinery does not need disassembling,
turnaround time can be as quick as a
single working day.
Leaving your sustainability credentials intact. With increasing pressures

across all industries to set and meet sustainability targets and reduce emissions,
there is a growing focus on the environmental impact of unexpected shutdowns
at petrochemical plants and refineries.
Plant interruptions can be highly
damaging to the environment, and years'
worth of gases and emissions can be leaked
into the atmosphere from just a few hours
of unplanned downtime. For example, gas
flaring is one of the common side effects
of unplanned shutdowns. Data published
by the World Bank's Global Gas Flaring Reduction (GGFR) program shows
that 145 Bm3y of gas is released into the
atmosphere from gas flaring, equating to
270 MMtpy of CO2 emissions. Therefore,
getting facilities back online as fast as possible is crucial to lessening the environmental impact, and selective electroplating helps make this possible.
The proprietary electroplating process is highly sustainable, as well. In comparison to other surface coating methods
(e.g., tank plating), selective plating uses

much less solution and chemicals and
generates very little wastewater. For workers and the environment, it is also much
safer, with fewer fumes emitted and less
hazardous waste to dispose.
With the portable nature of selective
plating, there often is no need to ship
components off for repair, which incurs
transportation costs, more emissions
and a bigger carbon footprint. Instead,
technicians can bring portable selective
electroplating equipment-containing all
the solutions and accessories required to
make the repairs-directly onsite.
Managing maintenance in a new
era. The turn of the decade has brought

many unforeseen events; however, the
petrochemical industry was looking at a
precarious new era long before the coronavirus pandemic arrived.
With a shrinking value pool, margin erosion and the changing way society views plastics, plants and machinery
must be managed more carefully. Maintenance schedules are just one factor that
petrochemical executives will need to be

mindful of, but they are possibly the most
important. However, by considering selective plating, maintenance planners can approach these situations with confidence.
Due to each selective plating application
being unique, repairs will be thoroughly
considered and performed by trained,
knowledgeable technicians, ensuring quality and reliability for years to come.
NOTE
SIFCO Process®
b
SIFCO ASC's AeroNikl® 250 coating
a

LITERATURE CITED
Hughes, K., " Three ways we are making an impact
on plastic pollution, " World Economic Forum,
September 2019, online: https://www.weforum.
org/agenda/2019/09/we-created-an-initiative-tofight-plastic-waste-here-are-3-takeaways-from-ourfirst-year/
2
Tomlinson, C., " Petrochemical industry has five years
to prepare for bust, " Houston Chronicle, July 2019

Based in Houston, Texas,
TONY ARANA is the Southwest
Territory Sales Manager at SIFCO
ASC. He has more than 30 yr
of experience in surface plating
and chemical engineering in the
oil and gas, aerospace, power
generation and general industries.

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Hydrocarbon Processing | MARCH 2021

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/09/we-created-an-initiative-to-fight-plastic-waste-here-are-3-takeaways-from-our-first-year/ https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/09/we-created-an-initiative-to-fight-plastic-waste-here-are-3-takeaways-from-our-first-year/ https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/09/we-created-an-initiative-to-fight-plastic-waste-here-are-3-takeaways-from-our-first-year/ http://www.GulfPub.com/InstruCalc

Hydrocarbon Processing - March 2021

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