Ethane-propane recovery unit at a refinery in India.
Persistently wet incumbent insulation on a live ethane-propane recovery unit caused steam collapse during monsoon season. Pyrogel® was applied as an overwrap — without shutting the line down — and eliminated the seasonal production shortfall.
Persistent wet insulation and monsoon-season production loss.
Excessive heat loss in the header during monsoon caused steam collapse — and a recurring production shortfall.
- Persistently wet insulation. Tropical / monsoon environment kept the incumbent system saturated.
- Excessive heat loss in the header. Underlying system was no longer delivering its rated thermal performance.
- Production shortfalls during monsoon. Unit could not maintain output during heavy-rain periods.
Pyrogel® overwrap, applied live, without taking the unit down.
The thin Pyrogel® overwrap restored thermal performance without an outage — a critical advantage given the unit’s operating economics.
- Applied as an overwrap on live steam line. No shutdown required; work completed in service.
- Eliminated steam collapse during monsoon. Removed the seasonal pattern of production shortfall.
- Downtime reduced by 35%. Unplanned interruption fell as steam quality stabilized.
- Payback in under 6 months. Margin recovery covered the install rapidly.
$640k/year saved · 35% less downtime · live install.
By keeping the steam header dry and thermally efficient through monsoon, Pyrogel® eliminated the seasonal production loss pattern and added approximately $640k per year to the unit’s margin — without ever shutting the line down for the work.
Losing margin every rainy season?
Pyrogel® can be applied live, as an overwrap, to restore thermal performance without an outage.