A straight line to ILI success

Given the world’s net-zero mindset, pipeline operators are taking advantage of every opportunity to reduce emissions and improve sustainability. No effort is too small; over the long-term, even modest changes can add up to a big effect. Improving integrity continues to be a way to reduce environmental impact; having accurate data helps ensure pipeline health and reduce risks.

While ILI is, for the most part, an environmentally friendly process, there are exceptions. Like almost everything else in this business, on the way to ‘green,’ things are rarely all black and white. ILI tools are generally propelled by product flow, but pipeline pressure and other conditions must be right for there to be sufficient drive. Otherwise, operators will use differential pressure instead to move the ILI tool through the pipeline. Unfortunately, that method requires a downstream release, meaning there’s venting or flaring and undesirable emissions along with it.

Despite the environmental advantage of using product flow to move ILI tools, there’s not much difference between it and differential pressure when it comes to controlling ILI tool speed, which is essential to data quality. The fact is, neither process is completely reliable in that regard.

For operators looking for superior ILI speed control, gas recompression using ReCAP^TM is becoming increasingly popular as an option because it provides a constant rate of gas flow to propel the ILI tool …

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Read the article online at: https://www.worldpipelines.com/equipment-and-safety/13012023/a-straight-line-to-ili-success/