In the steel industry, stainless steel pipes are widely used in construction, chemical industry, petroleum, electricity, and other fields because of their corrosion resistance, high strength, and elegant appearance. However, stainless steel pipes often need to be degreased during installation and use to ensure their long-term stable operation.
1. The importance of degreasing stainless steel pipes
During the manufacturing, transportation, and installation processes of stainless steel pipes, they may come into contact with various greases, such as lubricating oil, anti-rust oil, etc. If these greases are not removed in time, an oil film will form on the inner wall of the pipeline, affecting the normal use of the pipeline. First, the oil film can prevent the formation of oxide films on the inner walls of stainless steel pipes, causing them to lose their anti-corrosion capabilities. Secondly, the oil film will also reduce the heat transfer efficiency of the pipeline and affect the normal operation of the thermal pipeline. In addition, the existence of the oil film will also increase the friction coefficient between the fluid medium and the inner wall of the pipeline, increasing the resistance to fluid transportation.
Therefore, to ensure the normal use of stainless steel pipes, they must be degreased. The inner wall of the degreased pipe is smooth and clean, which can improve heat transfer efficiency, reduce fluid resistance, and extend the service life of the pipe.
2. Method of degreasing stainless steel pipes
There are many methods for degreasing stainless steel pipes. Common ones include chemical degreasing, physical degreasing, and manual degreasing.
① Chemical degreasing: Use chemicals to react with grease to decompose it into water-soluble substances, and then rinse it with water. Chemical degreasing has high efficiency and is suitable for degreasing large stainless steel pipes. It should be noted that there are many types of chemical degreasing agents, and you should choose a degreasing agent suitable for stainless steel pipes to avoid corrosion of the pipes.
② Physical degreasing: Use methods such as heating and high-pressure water jets to remove grease from the inner wall of the pipeline. The physical degreasing method is non-corrosive to pipelines and is suitable for stainless steel pipelines of various materials. Among them, thermal degreasing is to heat the pipe to a certain temperature to soften the grease and fall off the inner wall of the pipe; high-pressure water jet degreasing is to use a high-pressure water gun to powerfully flush the inner wall of the pipe to wash away the grease.
③ Manual degreasing: Use a cleaning cloth, cotton yarn, and other hand tools to wipe the inner wall of the pipe to remove grease. Manual degreasing is suitable for degreasing small stainless steel pipes or local areas. Due to the low efficiency of manual degreasing, it is not practical for large stainless steel pipes.
3. Precautions for degreasing stainless steel pipes
When degreasing stainless steel pipes, you should pay attention to the following points:
① Select the appropriate degreasing method and degreasing agent according to the pipe material, size, and usage environment. For special stainless steel pipes, such as food-grade stainless steel pipes, a safe and non-toxic degreasing agent should be selected.
② When performing chemical degreasing, personal protective equipment such as protective glasses and gloves should be worn, and good ventilation conditions should be ensured in the work area to prevent harmful gases from causing harm to workers.
③ When performing physical degreasing, attention should be paid to controlling the heating temperature and the pressure of the high-pressure water gun to avoid damage to the pipeline. At the same time, the work area should be kept clean and dry to prevent water damage to the ground.
④ When performing manual degreasing, care should be taken not to scratch the inner wall of the pipe to avoid affecting the anti-corrosion effect and service life. At the same time, tools should be kept clean and dry to avoid secondary pollution of the pipeline.
⑤ After degreasing is completed, the pipeline should be fully inspected to ensure that the grease has been completely removed. If necessary, a second degreasing treatment can be performed. At the same time, quality inspection of degreased pipelines should be carried out by relevant standards to ensure that they meet the requirements for use.
⑥ When storing and transporting stainless steel pipes, measures should be taken to prevent grease contamination. For example, the pipelines should be fixed during transportation to prevent them from sliding on the carriage or shelf; during storage, attention should be paid to keeping the warehouse dry and clean; the pipelines should be strictly inspected and necessary cleaning should be carried out before installation. At the same time, pipelines that are already polluted must be dealt with promptly to avoid more serious consequences.
4. Future development of stainless steel pipe degreasing
With the advancement of science and technology and the improvement of environmental awareness, stainless steel pipe degreasing technology is also constantly developing and improving. In the future, stainless steel pipeline degreasing will pay more attention to environmental protection, efficiency, and intelligence.
① Environmental protection: As environmental protection regulations become increasingly strict, the safety requirements for degreasing agents are also getting higher and higher. In the future, environmentally friendly degreasing agents will become mainstream, and their development and application will be more extensive. At the same time, the treatment of degreasing waste liquid will also be more standardized and strict to reduce environmental pollution.
② Efficiency: To improve degreasing efficiency and reduce production costs, more automated and intelligent degreasing equipment will be used in the future. For example, robots are used to clean and inspect the inner walls of pipelines, and big data and artificial intelligence technology are used to monitor and optimize the degreasing process in real-time.
③ Intelligence: Intelligence is an important development direction of future degreasing technology. Through intelligent technology, the automation, remote control, and real-time monitoring of the degreasing process can be realized to improve the quality and safety of degreasing. At the same time, intelligent technology can also collect and analyze degreasing data in real-time, providing strong support for optimizing the degreasing process.
In short, degreasing stainless steel pipes is an important link in the steel industry. With the continuous development and advancement of technology, degreasing technology will become more complete and efficient. We believe that shortly, more advanced, environmentally friendly, and intelligent degreasing technologies and equipment will continue to emerge, providing a better guarantee for the application and development of stainless steel pipelines.
Post time: Feb-28-2024