SUGAR-ALCOHOL
FIBER PIPES. HIGHLY RESISTANT AND IMMUNE TO CORROSION
The sugar-alcohol sector is responsible for approximately eight hundred thousand direct jobs divided between the three hundred and thirty Brazilian plants. It is one of the most important pillars of our economy and accounts for almost 15% of the country’s exports.
Sugar-alcohol plants are recognized as a type of industry marked by high maintenance, replacement, and repair costs of equipment due to abrasion and corrosion. Therefore, in recent years this segment has been looking for alternative products that provide greater resistance to corrosion, better conditions for cleaning and, consequently, fewer interventions in the plant.
In this sense, Petrofisa’s portfolio includes solutions and technologies in FRP (Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic) that are perfect for the sugar-alcohol sector, from applications involving the conduction of hot and cold vinasse, effluents, to water pipes, and guardrails. And it is worth mentioning that in this segment there are numerous advantages of Fiberglass pipes when compared to traditional metallic products.
ADVANTAGES OF FRP PIPES FOR APPLICATIONS IN THE SUGAR-ALCOHOL SECTOR
Immune to corrosion
FRP (Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic) pipes are completely inert and resistant both internally and externally to any type of chemical corrosion, whether salt water, H2S, generic, galvanic, intergranular, or graphitic corrosion, elements that frequently affect metallic pipes.
Abrasion resistance
FRP is among the materials with the lowest roughness coefficients, which means that its completely smooth interior surface requires less energy for fluids to circulate, thus offering greater abrasion resistance than metallic pipes.
Synergistic effect of the corrosion-abrasion binomial
The fluid’s combined corrosive and abrasive actions create a devastating synergistic effect for the corrosion of metals. Fiberglass pipes, as they are immune to corrosion and have high resistance to abrasion, break the synergistic effect of this binomial, so harmful to metallic materials.
Resistance to elevated temperatures and weather
In fertigation applications, temperatures can vary greatly. We manufacture pipes with specific resins that provide greater durability in these conditions. The surface of the pipe is composed of a layer based on thermosetting resin added with an inhibitor of UV-A and UV-B rays, which gives the pipes excellent resistance to aging.
Mechanical resistance
The safety factor for internal pipe pressure is up to 4 times the rated pressure. A rated pressure (PN) pipe of 1.6 MPa (16 kgf/cm2 or 160 mca) is hydrostatically tested to burst pressure, which reaches about 64 kgf/cm2.
Lightweight and extremely durable
FRP pipes are a quarter the weight of steel and are 25% lighter than aluminium.
In terms of life cycle, composites can last more than 50 years without the need for maintenance.