Process Wednesday: reglassing

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Credit: De Dietrich Process Systems

When you have glass-lined steel reactors, one of the things that the chemical engineers seem to worry a lot about is damage to the glass itself. One of the things that can put pinholes into the glass, for example, is static electricity discharge from non-polar solvents like hexanes. Corrosion with certain reagents (which they try desperately to prevent by barring them, wisely) is another source of damage. My favorite (because it's so simple, yet so costly) is dropped tools -- you drop a hammer or a wrench into a glass-lined reactor, you're gonna leave a dent.

As a relatively novice process chemist, I was unaware that glass-lined steel reactors (like old cars) can be sent for refurbishing. De Dietrich Process Systems' sales brochure about it is happy to tell me about the process:

Reglassing is the process by which older or damaged glasslined steel equipment is refurbished to like-new condition. All glass-lined reactors, tanks, columns, and accessories such as covers, agitators and baffles, can be reglassed if the steel substrate is in good or repairable condition.  

The process starts once a vessel has been inspected and approved as a candidate for reglass. Next, the old glass lining is removed by grit blasting. After any steel repairs and modifications are complete, DDPS proceeds with the glassing process. Here we fuse corrosion resistant 3009 glass onto the prepared steel in our computer controlled electric furnaces. Finally external protective coatings are applied via DDPS’ epoxy system. The end product is a high quality, glass-lined steel vessel or accessory. 

Reglassing is ideal for situations when time and cost are a primary issue. The turnaround time is within weeks versus months to fabricate a new vessel and there is nearly a 50% cost savings compared to buying a new vessel. ...All vessels reglassed by DDPS come with the same standard warranty as new vessels, ensuring you are receiving a vessel “as good as new.”

Now that we're going to get that reactor back, when I can start my boiling caustic soda process? (Kidding.)