INTRODUCTION
The industry has relied upon Polyamide 11 (PA11) for use in the offshore, natural gas distribution, automotive and industrial markets for the past 30 years. Its hydrocarbon resistance is among the best in the industry. As a result, the resin use in the following applications has expanded : offshore flexible pipe liners, natural gas pipe and fittings system, high pressure hydraulic hose and offshore umbilical’s for corrosion inhibitors injection. New applications have been developed : 1) PA 11 liner inserted into a corroded steel pipe, It has been successfully used at temperatures up to 85 C where high density polyethylene (HDPE) could not perform. 2)PA 11 for distribution of natural gas in the pressure range of 0.69 Mpa to 1.72 Mpa.
PA 11 is a high performance engineering polymer which was developed in 1942. It is one of the few polymers produced from a green raw material -oil from castor beans. Various grades have earned a preferred material status in the most demanding industrial applications.
It exhibits a unique combination of thermal, physical, chemical and mechanical properties which are required in applications such as offshore production flexible pipes, offshore umbilicals, high pressure hydraulic hose and natural gas distribution systems…
It is available in rigid, semi flexible and flexible grades. A grade can be easily customized to meet specific requirements. The grades ( viscosity level) can be processed by injection molding, extrusion, blown film extrusion, extrusion blow molding and rotomolding.
It is often combined with other materials such as high density polyethylene (HOPE), thermoplastic polyurethane, Aramide and/or polyester fibers, metal. It is available in powder form for coating applications and can be easily compounded with other thermoplastics, glass and carbon fibers, stainless steel, bronze and copper powders.
It has been an anticorrosion solution to protect and/or replace various metal for the Oil & Gas, Automotive, Gas Utilities, Water utilities ... industries for the last 30 years. This paper will describe its key applications and its key properties to meet the requirements.
Recently, new applications have been developed selecting the resin as a material of choice. The first one is the use of PA 11 as a liner fm oil & gas field rehabilitation processes that use roll down reduction techniques before insertion into carbon steel pipe. Such liners provide corrosion protection against corrosive components such as C02, H2S in a temperature range from 45 C up to 100 C. James F. Mason is presenting a paper on this application: "Pipe Liners for Corrosive High Temperature Oil &Gas production Applications". The second one is the use of PA 11 in high pressure gas distribution plastic piping system. Due to its properties. the system meets service pressure of 0.7 to 1.6 MPA (100 to 250 psi). An internal program is addressing all key tests required to meet short term and long term performance of a high pressure natural gas distribution system.
