CASE STUDY
28-Year Case History on Fire Water Mains Protection
at Precious Metals Refinery
Buried Coatings
Project Data
| Location | South Africa |
| Client | Anglo American Platinum |
| Products | Denso Paste S105™, Denso™ Tape, Denso MDP Outerwrap™ |
| Date | September 2016 |
Project Details
Anglo American Platinum is the world’s leading primary producer of Platinum Group Metals (PGMs). They provide a complete resource-to-market service, supplying their network of global customers with a range of mined, recycled and traded products.
The aim of the inspection was to determine the condition of the fire water mains, protected by Denso, since it’s installation in 1988. The current condition of the pipe would act as an important assessment to ensure the continued supply of fire water and to assess possible maintenance required after 28 years.
Three areas were marked up for excavation and the results of these excavations would determine the remedial action going forward. All three excavations found the Denso outer wrap to be slightly damaged, which was partly caused by the original backfilling and recent excavation of the trench. No damage was noticed on the Denso™ Petrolatum Tape inner wrap which was still found to be saturated with the petrolatum compound.
The entire coating system was removed, and the pipe surface was cleaned. No corrosion whatsoever was evident after 28 years since its installation in 1988. The inspections reflected an excellent coating system which was applied as per the specification. This highlights the importance of recommending the correct coating system and applying the material in strict accordance with the specification.
A 6” tie-in was then subsequently done for a fire water system installation at the Main Store using the original system supplied back in 1988!
The original outer wrap damage was partly caused by the backfills and recent excavation
The pipe still in perfect condition - immediately after the removal of the original Denso™ system and still showing a layer of petrolatum compound
After cleaning, the pipe was recoated with the Denso™ Petrolatum Tape System using a 55% overlap of the tape
The new tie in, also wrapped in the same Denso™ Petrolatum Tape System used in 1988
The original outer wrap damage was partly caused by the backfills and recent excavation
The pipe still in perfect condition - immediately after the removal of the original Denso™ system and still showing a layer of petrolatum compound
After cleaning, the pipe was recoated with the Denso™ Petrolatum Tape System using a 55% overlap of the tape
