Development of Vikotherm R5

Subsea thermal insulation is used in the Offshore O&G industry to ensure a reliable arrival temperature of the well fluid at the processing plant or platform and a guaranteed minimum cooling time in the event of process interruptions. With ever increasing ocean depth and operation temperature requirements and extending oil well and platform (tie-back) distances, there is a need for a more thermally efficient and hydro thermally stable products. Competitive novel technologies, new business models as well as differentiation and diversification of products and services are needed to secure and strengthen the Norwegian supplier industry in the changing markets. To address the new client trends, TON will develop a novel, castable, reactive two-component thermal insulation. The new Vikotherm R5 material technology enables TON to create new products and system solutions with improves technical performance and manufacturing flexibility. The material development has been initiated with a literature study and mapping of candidates that can be included in the formulation of VR5. By building knowledge about the chemistry of different reaction mechanisms for the relevant material candidates, the project has come up with two different strategies for producing VR5. One strategy is to use a chemically modified rubber material as a co-agent in the reaction with a curing resin. A second strategy is to use a material that has been heavily modified, as an additive. Modification of existing rubbers has been achieved on the 50 - 100g scale in pressurised lab reactors and the resulting materials have been subjected to analysis to determine whether the reaction has modified the original polymer. Initial results indicate that this has been achieved. Associated costs in CAPEX and OPEX may limit the commercial applicability of this approach; however it is useful as a tool to investigate the basic chemistry of the system for subsequent optimisation. The long reaction time and need for pressurised production vessels, with subsequent solvent re-cycling and product purification are also items for concern. It is expected, through optimisation of this process that it can be transferred to more convenient equipment for production. The route of compounding with modified, existing functionalised materials has had significant focus in the past few months as this is a process which is closest akin to our normal production and would require the lowest level of CAPEX. It is also expected that such an approach will yield material that can be pelletised and made ready for subsequent use without the need for solvents and thus no recycling. Unlike the modification route, the degrees of freedom to focus on specific bond types and geometries is more limited in this case. The compounded material, such made, is then to be dissolved in DCPD and polymerise under the influence of a catalyst in much the same way as with the modification route. The use of alternative vulcanisation schemes has been investigated exhaustively, unfortunately determining, through theoretical evaluations and physical experiments, that there were no known, suitable systems. This did however confirm that the two chosen avenues above are those that are most likely to succeed. Analysis techniques such as atomic force microscopy(AFM), 13C and 1H-NMR, FT-IR have been used extensively in order to investigate structure relationships. This has required extensive coordination with internal and external resources in several countries. The findings here have been fundamental in the knowledge that is built to this point. The project is continuing with investigations of modification and compounding, but at the same time investigating how a meso-scale production can be assembled in order to manufacture sufficient quantities for making samples for mechanical and thermal testing. In the lab bench scale work, some improvement in morphology have been seen in blends, which indicates that some level an interaction has been provoked. Newer avenues of development have also been opened as it has been seen that the use of short-chain and chemically degraded vulcanisates have given both curing, vulcanisation and the desired improvement in material ductility. This is potentially a much lower cost and less capital intensive method and is being accelerated in the development

Subsea thermal insulation is used to avoid cooling of the oil in the pipelines during transportation. This secures safe fluid flow by avoiding formation of blockages and ensures a reliable arrival temperature of the oil at the processing plant or platform. The planned Vikotherm® R5 is a novel injectable rubber material concept for thermal insulation of subsea production systems (SPS) and Subsea Umbilicals, Risers & Flowlines (SURF). Vikotherm® R5 will meet future market needs for insulation products with higher thermal efficiency and hydrothermal stability, for operations at ever increasing ocean depths (> 3000 m) and at higher operating temperature requirements (at or above 180°C). The very ambitious development of Vikotherm® R5 will require high quality and interdisciplinary R&D efforts in applied polymer research, advanced materials characterization and process development. In particular, Vikotherm® R5 relies on a novel catalyst technology not hitherto used for the materials production for O&G. Further, Vikotherm® R5 will require the development of material formulations that fulfil all necessary requirements for processing and end-use performance. Vikotherm® R5 will contribute to the OG21 Target Technology Area 4: Production, processing and transport, by enabling improved productivity and reduced costs from new and existing fields on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) and also globally. Trelleborg Offshore Norway (TON) is a world leading provider of insulation for bends, jumpers, valves and manifolds to the oil and gas sector. The Vikotherm® R5 insulation material technology will enable TON to secure and expand its thermal insulation business into new fields not accessible using the Vikotherm® solutions of today. Further, Vikotherm® R5 will enable TON to develop a new and more sustainable business model as a material supplier, which complements the current material application service business, and which responds to changing market trends.