Cryogenic pipelines and tanks cover the temperature range between -40 to -192 Celsius. In LNG projects and other cryogenic projects, importance and attention shall be attached to “heat leakage” in transportation and storage. As of now, the commonly used insulation materials include PUR/PIR, cellular glass/foam glass, rubber foam, modified phenolic foam, etc., which are an improvement over perlite materials previously used from the perspective of insulation performance and installation ease. With the presence of aerogel insulation material for the cryogenic applications, a deep and material change is happening to current cryogenic insulation systems.
-
Challenges
-
Fast performance decline of conventional materials causes big cost for maintenance.
-
Poor insulation effect and huge cold loss of conventional materials bring big risks to the transportation and storage of LNG and other compressed gases.
-
Large insulation profile of conventional materials brings massive inconvenience to intensive pipeline designs and layouts.
-
Condensation due to poor insulation performance of conventional materials causes pipeline corrosion.
-
Conventional materials easily loses its property because of too much condensate water, while organic materials are waterproof but cannot meet fireproof requirements.
-
Benefits of aerogel insulation materials
-
With extremely low thermal conductivity and excellent insulation effect, aerogel blanket sharply reduces the thickness for insulation material and effectively cuts down cold loss, enabling intensive pipeline designs and layouts.
-
Stable performance at ultralow temperature, even used at -200 Celsius, aerogel blanket still maintains flexibility and other properties without any cracks or breaking.
-
Waterproof property is well preserved even at ultralow temperature, preventing condensate water from penetrating the surface of the metal pipelines so as to avoid corrosion to the pipelines.
-
Easy for cutting and installing with low cost for routine maintenance.
