Make jacketing your strong suit

Small details in jacketed-pipe configuration can

have a big impact, according to Chemical
Processing's Contributing Editor Andrew Sloley.
By Andrew Sloley, contributing editor
Dec 05, 2006
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Utility systems are just as important as process systems for overall plant success. So, they
deserve the same attention to detail and review that process systems demand. Unfortunately,
however, utility systems too often get short shrift.
Consider jacketed piping which is manufactured in relatively short, flanged sections, typically 20
ft long. These short sections allow for isolation of segments of the pipe, to identify the specific
location where a leak between the process fluid and the heating medium may be occurring, and
enable reasonably quick replacement of a damaged section.
If steam is the heating medium, its unusual for each piping segment to have its own steam and
condensate connection. Instead, a jump-over on the jacket side connects the heating utility from
one section to another and allows both steam and condensate to flow downstream to the next
section.
This jump-over connection is one detail thats easily overlooked. Yet, mistakes can prove costly.
In one case, inappropriate connections resulted in a sulfur line setting solid, despite the use of
50-psig (268F) steam, well above the temperature at which sulfur solidifies (238F). The
pressure drop on the steam side of the jacketed piping reduced the actual steam pressure
available to below 5 psig (228F).
Figure 1 shows four different connection configurations. Configuration D most commonly appears
in engineering standards. Configuration B works just as well, if not better. Configurations A and C
both can bring significant problems.

Figure 1. Four different connection configurations are illustrated.

Condensate, of course, accumulates in the bottom of the jacket. Therefore, if the jump-over is at
the top (Configuration A), then the jacket fills up with condensate, which has a much lower heattransfer coefficient than condensing steam. Many applications will completely fail if the pipe fills
with condensate.
Additionally, the condensate increases the pressure drop through the system. Steam pressure
decreases dramatically toward the last pipe segment before the condensate return. At lower
pressure, the condensate may not be able to enter the condensate return system or the steam
may no longer be hot enough to meet process conditions.
Configurations C and D both take the steam and condensate mixture from the bottom and send it
to the top of the next pipe. In the rising part of the jump-over, the two-phase mixture creates a
static head. Downstream pressure may be lower than expected. As long as the pressure drops
through the jacketing system are understood and have been allowed for, Configuration D works
well.
However, the steam connections from one segment to another are rarely engineered to the same
level as process systems. Often, these connections are left to field installers to fit. If the jumpover goes too high (as shown in Configuration C), the extra height increases the pressure drop
through the system. This may not seem like much in a single jump-over, but five, 10 or 20 jumpovers like this in a row can have a big impact.
Configuration B, while less common, takes the steam and condensate mixture from the bottom of
the pipe and returns it to the bottom of the next section. This works well and has