Pipeline pigging refers to the cleaning and maintenance of pipelines using devices known as “pigs”. This may seem an odd term, but it is an acronym for “Pipeline Inspection Gauge/Gadget”. While the process may appear, on the surface, to be a simple one, the reality is that the pigging operation is very specialized and the pigs that are used must be made to the highest international standards to ensure that the cleaning is maximized; any internal damage is noticed during the pigging process and it is ensured that the pigs themselves do not damage the pipelines in any way.
At VP Engineers, we pride ourselves on being at the forefront of pig equipment manufacturers. We offer a full range of pipeline pig types in various sizes. When it comes to pig manufacturing, we set benchmarks for quality and technology for others to follow.
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Who Uses Pipeline Pigs?
Any process of other industries that uses pipelines for transporting liquids and/or gases knows the importance of ensuring unimpeded flow through them. These industries include:
Oil and gas
Water treatment and effluent service providers
Steel, sugar, cement and papers industries
Power plants – hydro, nuclear and thermal
Any blockage in a pipeline due to the build-up of deposits will affect production and, in the worst case, may lead to excess pressure causing the pipeline to rupture. Effective cleaning, by the use of pigs, means unhampered production and increased safety.
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Types of Pigs
The various types of pipelines and the materials they carry require pigs that are designed to optimize the cleaning for that specific application.
Bidirectional Pigs/Disc Pigs:
These pigs are designed to clean new pipelines before they are commissioned.
They are specially designed to travel long distances without any loss of sealing.
These pigs can negotiate pipes of varying diameters during their passage with no loss of sealing integrity.
As the name suggests, these pigs can move in both directions without any compromise in the sealing when traveling in either direction.
For pipelines prone to heavy deposit build-up, pigs with metal and nylon brush assemblies are used.
Cup Pigs/Batching Pigs:
These pigs are used to check the dimensions of a pipeline before a product is released into it.
These normally have 2 or 4 cups attached to the body, which allow for the separation of different fluids in the pipeline, for example, gasoline and heating oil.
Typical applications include line filling, dewatering, batch separation, light cleaning, etc.
Cup pigs with metal or nylon brushes are used to remove heavy surface contamination as they have a higher sealing capacity than standard pigs. These pigs are mainly used by construction and mining industries.
Cup pigs/gauge pigs are used to check for damage to the inner surface of a pipeline.
Cup magnetic pigs are used for the removal of ferrous debris that would contaminate the material in the pipeline if left in place.
Scrapper pigs, as the name suggests, thoroughly scrape the inner surface of pipelines to remove scales, rust and solid deposits that may have collected.
Foam Pigs/Poly Pigs:
Foam/Poly pigs are molded from polyurethane and fitted with wire bristles, studs, etc. Which are bonded to them. They are primarily used for pipeline rehabilitation. These pigs have a cylindrical shape to keep unit loading low.
These pigs are also used as the starting point of a pigging programme for pipelines that have not been previously pigged.
There are various types of foam/poly pigs to meet specific pigging requirements, including low, medium, high and ultra-high density and bare foam pigs. These include bare foam pigs, fully coated foam pigs, criss-cross coated foam pigs and silicon carbide strip pasted foam pigs.
Pig Signallers:
Pig signallers are the pig launching and receiving stations and key points along a pipeline. The signallers monitor the movement of the pig through the pipeline and also estimate the amount of accumulated debris the pig has removed so that any areas where there is excessive build-up can be identified for corrective action.
Decoking Pigs:
Decoking pigs offers a more efficient way of removing hard coke deposits from pipelines.
The use of these studded pigs offers more effective pipeline cleaning as compared to chemical or combustions methods. Cleaning is done in a short time without the risk of pipeline damage.
Half Round / U Bolt Pads:
U bolt pads made out of nylon/polyacetal not only offer the maximum vibration damping and support to pipelines but they also completely remove any chance of corrosion and damage that is possible with metal-to-metal contact.
Casing Insulators & End Seals:
These are used for insulating carrier pipes from casing pipes.
Casing insulators are made from HDPE and casing end seals from NB, neoprene and natural rubber.
Insulators and seals are manufactured to customized requirements to ensure that they match specific requirements.
Spares:
A complete range of spares, including cups, discs, brushes, gauge plates, transmitter cavities, scrapper blades, and more are available.
