Heat Trace Cabling Solution Delivered for Major Australian Bitumen Pipeline

Implementing a complete heat trace cabling solution for a 1.6km bitumen pipeline has simplified operations for an industrial marine port operator in Kwinana, Western Australia.

We worked closely with our partners ESI, local installation and integration specialists, to deliver this solution to the client.

Our engineering teams selected products fit for the job and worked to deliver a full heat trace cabling, control and power distribution design, plus a full remote monitoring set up via PLC.

Application: 

Heating bitumen over long distances requires a precise approach. Our client was operating in an industrial marine environment, and dealing with unique site restrictions including the pipeline partially crossing over private land and a requirement for Hazardous Area T3 compliance at wharf.

• Hazardous Area T3 compliance is a classification referring to the maximum temperature any relevant part of the equipment that may be in contact with a flammable (explosive) gas can reach. In this case, the classification references the maximum allowable surface temperature of the bitumen pipeline.

The Pacific Automation team are experts at providing solutions to complex and niche industrial applications. Having previously delivered successful heat trace cabling projects across Australia, our team was aware of common pitfalls and worked to avoid these from the start.

Importantly, we understand the overwhelming importance all industrial operators place on reliability. Any process equipment failure or malfunction will typically flow on to other areas of the operation, affecting timeframes, budgets and bottom lines.

Our solutions are designed for longevity in harsh environments - they're built to work; and to last.

Product:

Our Pacific Automation solution specialists assessed the situation onsite and recommended implementing a HTEK™ Series constant watt heating cable from Thermon. Circuit lengths up to 3,658m can be energised from a single end, cutting down on power connection points.

Alternative products for the main pipeline, such as self regulating cable, were inefficient choices due to the size and scale of the project. With a much smaller run length possible between power connection points, any design utilising this cable would be unnecessarily complex.

HTEK Series cable is built for high performance in demanding conditions, with a estimated service lifetime over two decades. Combined with the reductions in required power infrastructure and subsequent installation costs, it's cut out many headaches for the design engineers and port maintenance team.



Solution:

Our partners, integration specialists ESI, had the qualified, certified technicians required for the job, including staff with experience working in marine environments and at heights over water. Multiple on-the-job assessments & improvements from their team over the timeline of the installation resulted in a smoother, more efficient project delivery for the client.

With a full suite of features including low and high temperature alarms, programmable high temperature trip functions and high ground/earth leakage alarms, the client now has a system specifically designed for the continuous monitoring and management of their heat tracing solution.

The port operators now have a solution purpose-built for their industrial marine environment. Simple, yet sophisticated control & monitoring of the heat tracing can be interfaced to a dedicated PC.



In full collaboration with the client, the heat trace cable was installed on time, on budget, and to the highest of safety standards. This solution means the team is always ready for the next bitumen shipment into port. The pipeline can be efficiently heated and monitored.

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To chat with one of our Hazardous Area heat trace specialists, contact us today.