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Category:
Materials
Nominee:
Harry Walkoff
Aspen Aerogels, Inc.
Northborough, MA, USA
Web site:
www.aerogel.com
Date of Innovation:
April 2008
Brief Summary:
Aerogel blanket insulation reduces risk of CUI. The oil and gas industry has been plagued for some 30 years with
corrosion damage caused by corrosion under insulation (CUI). Most corrosion professionals understand the
phenomena. Water ingress into insulation systems is held for long periods against the warm or hot steel by the
relatively thick, water-absorbent insulation, causing corrosion of unprotected carbon steel, or of steel that was
never coated with a proper immersion-grade coating. NACE Standard RP0198-98 states that insulation materials
contribute to CUI in the following three ways:
Providing an annular space which can collect water and other corrosive media.
Leaching out contaminants that accelerate the corrosion process.
Wicking and/or absorbing water and holding it against the substrate.
It also states, Because CUI is a product of wet metal exposure duration, the insulation system that holds the
least amount of water and dries most quickly should result in the least amount of corrosion damage to
equipment.
The innovation being nominated is an aerogel insulation blanket that:
Does not absorb water.
Allows water vapor to pass through it.
Has exceptional thermal conductivity, allowing a significantly reduced thickness compared to
traditional insulation.
The mechanical and chemical properties of aerogel blanket insulation serve to mitigate all three of the abovementioned factors which contribute to CUI as follows:
Blanket with metallic jacket application is secured with metal banding, which eliminates the annular
gap common with rigid insulations.
No chlorides or other leachable materials, which can accelerate corrosion.
Long-term hydrophobic up to 600 F.
Myriads of manufacturer tests, independent laboratory tests, field trials, and case histories over the last three
years of global use in the oil and gas industry have corroborated the corrosion mitigation properties described
above.
Title of Innovation:
Pyrogel XTWater Repellent Aerogel Blanket Insulation
Full Description:
When and how was it developed?
Development finalized and released for sale in April 2008. Using the sol-gel process for
creation of aerogel particles, which are embedded into a fibrous glass blanket by a supercritical CO2 extraction.
How does it work, in basic terms?
It works as thermal insulation, the same way thermal insulation has historically been
intended to work for many decades. There are five major caveats to this innovative
insulation material:
1. The insulation remaining dry eliminates the mechanism that is known to cause
corrosion under insulation (CUI). That is, the retaining of water for long periods
against the steel surface under the insulation.
2. Because it does not wick and absorb water (after exposure to up to 600 F), the
thermal efficiency of the insulation present when the insulation is new remains
unchanged throughout the entire life of the insulated equipment (i.e., the insulation
never has to be replaced due to wetness or damage).
3. Outstanding thermal conductivity, which allows very millimeters of thickness to
achieve the same thermal efficiency as inches of other types of insulation materials
(assuming those materials are dry).
4. The blanket is unbreakable, resists mechanical damage, has unlimited reuse, does not
require molding into pre-determined shapes, and requires 7X less volume in
transportation, storage, and portage to a jobsite.
Suitable for temperatures up to 1, 200 F (648 C). Water repellent up to 600 F (315 C).
How or why is the innovation unique?
No other insulation material has all of the above properties and attributes.
Are you aware of other organizations that have introduced similar innovations? If so, how
is this innovation different?
Yes, one other company has introduced an aerogel blanket insulation. It is not able to resist
elevated temperatures often seen in refineries.
Are there any patents related to this work? If yes, please provide the patent title, number,
and inventor.
Aerogel Compositions with Enhanced Performance, application no. 11/753,815, inventors
Owen R. Evans, Wendell E. Rhine, Jon F. Nebo, and Jon C. Abeles.
Supporting Photos:
Fig. 1: Water vapor flows through it. Water does not penetrate.