SF alky contactor replacement at a refinery in Louisiana, USA.
Four alky contactors were pre-insulated with Cryogel® Z at ground level and lifted into position — a workflow that would not have been possible with the original cellular-glass spec, and that pulled the entire scope inside the TAR window.
Four contactors to replace inside a single turnaround.
The unit operates in the CUI temperature range; sweating-service drove the spec. Hazard-zone access made minutes count.
- Replace 4 contactors in a single TAR. All four vessels needed to be swapped within the planned outage.
- Sweating at operating temperature. 40–70 °F service is squarely inside the CUI risk zone.
- Minimize time in the hazard zone. Personnel exposure inside the alky unit needed to be kept low.
Pre-insulate at ground level. Lift. Tie in. Done.
Cryogel® Z’s blanket format enabled vessels to arrive at the unit fully insulated — a workflow rigid foam could not support.
- Pre-insulated at ground level. Insulators worked outside the hazard zone, then vessels were lifted in.
- Applied up to the flange. Thin profile let crews insulate right up to the bolting; no return trips.
- Completed in a condensed window. Pulled inside the planned TAR; no separate outage required.
- No process revenue lost. Substitution preserved the original TAR plan without overruns.
Pre-insulation made an otherwise-impossible scope possible.
The pre-insulation workflow — only possible because of Cryogel® Z’s flexibility and thinness — kept the four-contactor replacement inside the TAR and out of the hazard zone. The thinner profile also means the contactors are fully insulated to the flanges, eliminating a maintenance-time return to the hazard zone.
Hazard-zone time on your next TAR?
Cryogel® Z lets you pre-insulate at ground level and lift vessels in fully clad.