In the world of petrochemical processing, unplanned downtime can be both costly and disruptive. When a CO₂ pipeline elbow at a petrochemical plant in the Czech Republic developed a leak, the facility faced the risk of shutting down a section of its operations for several days. Traditional repair methods, such as off-site fixes or full pipeline replacement, would have been expensive and time-consuming. However, thanks to an innovative on-site repair solution using Corrocoat products, a shutdown was successfully avoided.
The pipeline elbow in question was made of carbon steel and had already undergone several unsuccessful coating repair attempts. The persistent leak meant that a more robust, long-term solution was needed, one that could be implemented without taking the system offline.
After an inspection by Corrotech, a customised repair plan was developed. Surface preparation of the elbow was undertaken on-site whilst work got underway with fabrication of a 4 mm thick FRP enclosure, using Corroglass 600 Lamination Resin and Multiaxial Fibre Glass Cloth 600 g/m² in the workshop. Once the elbow was prepared and primed with Corroglass 600 Series, the enclosure was installed around the elbow and filled with Corrofill VE on-site. Strength was further bolstered with an additional layer of 600g/ m² cloth before being coated with Polyglass VEHA.
This composite repair solution successfully sealed the leak and reinforced the pipe elbow, eliminating the need for costly shutdowns or major replacements. By leveraging Corrocoat’s advanced coating and composite materials, the petrochemical plant was able to restore the integrity of the pipeline without interrupting operations.
Find out more about our composite repair solutions for industrial pipelines.
