10/27/2016

PiggingWikipedia

Pigging
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Pigginginthecontextofpipelinesreferstothepracticeofusingdevicesknownas"pigs"toperformvarious
maintenanceoperations.Thisisdonewithoutstoppingtheflowoftheproductinthepipeline.
Theseoperationsincludebutarenotlimitedtocleaningandinspectingthepipeline.Thisisaccomplishedby
insertingthepigintoa"piglauncher"(or"launchingstation")anoversizedsectioninthepipeline,reducingto
thenormaldiameter.Thelaunchingstationisthenclosedandthepressuredrivenflowoftheproductinthe
pipelineisusedtopushitalongdownthepipeuntilitreachesthereceivingtrapthe"pigcatcher"(or
"receivingstation").

Contents
1 Applications
2 Etymology
3 Inproductionenvironments
3.1 Productandtimesaving
3.2 Environmentalbenefits
3.3 Safetyconsiderations
3.3.1 Mechanicalinterlocks
4 Pigvarieties
4.1 Intelligentpigging
4.1.1 Locationverification
5 Inpopularculture
6 Seealso
7 References
8 Externallinks

Acleaningpigfora28inchoil
pipeline.Theblueplasticdisksseal
againsttheinsideofthepipeto
propelthedeviceandtoremoveloose
sedimentationorscalebuildup.The
blackrectanglesatthetopandthe
circulardisksinthecenterare
magnetstoattractandremoveany
loosemetalobjectsinthepipe.

Applications
Pigginghasbeenusedformanyyearstocleanlargediameterpipelinesintheoilindustry.Today,however,theuseofsmallerdiameterpiggingsystems
isnowincreasinginmanycontinuousandbatchprocessplantsasplantoperatorssearchforincreasedefficienciesandreducedcosts.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pigging

1/8

10/27/2016

PiggingWikipedia

Piggingcanbeusedforalmostanysectionofthetransferprocessbetween,forexample,blending,storageor
fillingsystems.Piggingsystemsarealreadyinstalledinindustrieshandlingproductsasdiverseaslubricating
oils,paints,chemicals,toiletries,cosmeticsandfoodstuffs.
Pigsareusedinlubeoilorpaintblendingtocleanthepipestoavoidcrosscontamination,andtoemptythepipes
intotheproducttanks(orsometimestosendacomponentbacktoitstank).Usuallypiggingisdoneatthe
beginningandattheendofeachbatch,butsometimesitisdoneinthemidstofabatch,suchaswhenproducing
apremixthatwillbeusedasanintermediatecomponent.
Pigsarealsousedinoilandgaspipelinestocleanthepipes.Therearealso"smartpigs"usedtoinspectpipelines
forthepurposeofpreventingleaksthatcanbeexplosiveanddangeroustotheenvironment.Theyusuallydonot
interruptproduction,thoughsomeproductcanbelostwhenthepigisextracted.Theycanalsobeusedto
separatedifferentproductsinamultiproductpipeline.

Anultrasonicleakdetectionpig.

Ifthepipelinecontainsbutterflyvalves,orreducedportballvalves,thepipelinecannotbepigged.Fullport(or
fullbore)ballvalvescausenoproblemsbecausetheinsidediameteroftheballopeningisthesameasthatofthe
pipe.

Etymology
Theoriginalpigsweremadefromstrawwrappedinwireandusedforcleaning.Theymadeasquealingnoise
whiletravelingthroughthepipe,soundingtosomelikeapigsquealing,whichgavepigstheirname.[1][2]"PIG"
issometimesclaimedasanacronymorbackronymderivedfromtheinitiallettersoftheterm"Pipeline
InspectionGauge"or"PipelineInterventionGadget".

Inproductionenvironments
Productandtimesaving
Amajoradvantageformultiproductpipelinesofpiggablesystemsisthepotentialofproductsavings.Attheend
ofeachproducttransfer,itispossibletoclearouttheentirelinecontentswiththepig,eitherforwardstothe
receiptpoint,orbackwardstothesourcetank.Thereisnorequirementforextensivelineflushing.

Acleaningpigfora6inchoil
pipeline.Thewirebrushencirclesthe
shaftandscourstheinteriorofthe
pipeline.

Withouttheneedforlineflushing,piggingofferstheadditionaladvantageofmuchmorerapidandreliableproductchangeover.Productsamplingatthe
receiptpointisfasterwithpigs,becausetheinterfacebetweenproductsisverycleartheoldmethodofcheckingatintervalstodeterminewherethe
productisonspecificationtakesconsiderablylonger.
Piggingcanalsobeoperatedtotallybyaprogrammablelogiccontroller(PLC).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pigging

2/8

10/27/2016

PiggingWikipedia

Environmentalbenefits
Pigginghasasignificantroletoplayinreducingtheenvironmentalimpactofbatchoperations.Traditionally,theonlywaythatanoperatorofabatch
processcouldensureaproductwascompletelyclearedfromalinewastoflushthelinewithacleaningagentsuchaswaterorasolvent,orevenwith
thenextproduct.Thecleaningagentthenhadtobesubjectedtoeffluenttreatmentorsolventrecovery.Ifaproductwasusedtocleartheline,itwas
necessarytodowngradeordumpthecontaminatedportionoftheproduct.Alloftheseproblemscannowbeeliminatedduetotheverypreciseinterface
producedbymodernpiggingsystems.

Safetyconsiderations
Piggingsystemsaredesignedsothatthepigisloadedintothelauncher,whichispressuredtolaunchthepigintothepipelinethroughakickerline.In
somecases,thepigisremovedfromthepipelineviathereceiverattheendofeachrun.[3]Allsystemsmustallowforthereceiptofpigsatthelauncher,
asblockagesinthepipelinemayrequirethepigstobepushedbacktothelauncher.Manysystemsaredesignedtopigthepipelineineitherdirection.
Thepigispushedeitherwithagasoraliquidifpushedbygas,somesystems[4]canbeadaptedinthegasinletinordertoensurepig'sconstantspeed,
whatevertheflowpressureis.Thepigsmustberemoved,asmanypigsarerented,pigswearandmustbereplaced,andcleaning(andother)pigspush
contaminantsfromthepipelinesuchaswax,foreignobjects,hydrates,etc.,whichmustberemovedfromthepipeline.Thereareinherentrisksin
openingthebarreltoatmosphericpressuresocaremustbetakentoensurethatthebarrelisdepressurizedpriortoopening.Ifthebarrelisnot
completelydepressurized,thepigcanbeejectedfromthebarrelandoperatorshavebeenseverelyinjuredwhenstandinginfrontofanopenpigdoor.By
accident,onepigwasshotoutoftheendofapipelinewithoutaproperpigreceiverandwentthroughthesideofahouse500feetaway.[5]Whenthe
productissour,thebarrelshouldbeevacuatedtoaflaresystemwherethesourgasisburnt.Operatorsshouldwearaselfcontainedbreathingapparatus
whenworkingonsoursystems.
Afewpiggingsystemsutilizea"captivepig",andthepipelineisonlyopenedoccasionallytochecktheconditionofthepig.[6]Atallothertimes,thepig
isshuttledupanddownthepipelineattheendofeachtransfer,andthepipelineisneveropenedupduringprocessoperation.Thesesystemsarenot
common.
Mechanicalinterlocks
Therearemanyincidentsrecordedwhereoperatorsgetinjuredorevenkilledwhileperformingapiggingoperation.Commoncausesofsuchincidents
are:
closuredoorisopened,whilethevesselisstillpressurized
mainprocessvalveisopened,whiletheclosuredoorisnotyetfullyclosed
closuredoorisopened,whileahighconcentrationofH2Sorothertoxinsstillremaininsidethevessel
ventvalveremainsopen,whilethevesselisbeingpressurizedwithitsmedium.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pigging

3/8

10/27/2016

PiggingWikipedia

Allthesecausesaredirectlyrelatedtoimproperoperationoftheprocessvalvesandtheclosuredoor.Acommonmethodtoavoidthesekindsof
incidentsistoaddvalveinterlocks,[7]whichisnowadaysadoptedbyallglobaloilandgasoperatingcompanies.
Safetyduringpiggingreliesonthestrictadherencetosafetyprocedures,whichgivedetaileddescriptionofasafevalveoperatingsequence.By
physicallyblockingincorrectoperations,valveinterlocksenforcesuchsequences,ratherthaninterferingwiththem.Valveinterlocksarepermanently
mountedtomanualandmotoroperatedvalvesandtheclosuredoor.Theinterlocksblockoperationofavalveordoor,unlesstheappropriatekeysare
inserted.
Theprincipleofvalveinterlockingisthetransferofkeys.Eachlockisequippedwithtwokeys:akeyforthelockedopenpositionandoneforthe
lockedclosedposition.Duringanoperatingprocedure,onlyonekeyatatimeisfree.Thiskeyonlyfitsintheinterlockbelongingtothevalvethatisto
beoperatednextintheoperatingprocedure.Allkeysareuniquelycodedtoavoidthepossibilitythatvalvescanbeunlockedataninappropriatetime.
NowadaysintelligentinterlockingsolutionsenabletheintegrationoffielddeviceslikepressureorH2Smetersinavalveinterlockingsequence.This
increasessafetybyintegratingoperatorprocedures[8]withDCSandSISsafetysystems.

Pigvarieties
A"pig"inthepipelineindustryisatoolthatissentdownapipelineandpropelledbythepressureoftheproduct
flowinthepipelineitself.Therearefourmainusesforpigs:
1.Physicalseparationbetweendifferentfluidsflowingthroughthepipeline
2.Internalcleaningofpipelines
3.Inspectionoftheconditionofpipelinewalls(alsoknownasanInlineInspection(ILI)tool)
4.Capturingandrecordinggeometricinformationrelatingtopipelines(e.g.,size,position).
Oneofthemostcommonandversatileisthefoampigwhichiscutorpouredoutofanopencellpolyurethane
foamintotheshapeofabulletandisdriventhroughpipelinesformanyreasonsliketoprovetheinnerdiameter
Apigondisplayinasectionof
oftheline,cleanit,dewaterit,ordryitout.Thereareseveraltypesofpigsforcleaninginvariousdensitiesfrom
cutawaypipe,fromtheAlaska
2lbto10lbfoamandinspecialapplicationsupto20lb.Somehavetungstenstudsorabrasivewiremeshonthe
Pipeline
outsidetocutrust,scale,orparaffinwaxdepositsofftheinsideofthepipe.Othertypesarefullyorcrisscross
coatedinurethane,ortherearebarepolyurethanefoampigswithaurethanecoatingjustonthereartosealand
assistindrivingthepig.Therearealsofullymoldedurethanepigswhicharegreatforliquidremovalorbatchingseveraldifferentproductsinoneline.
Inlineinspectionpigsusevariousmethodsforinspectingapipeline.Asizingpigusesone(ormore)notchedroundmetalplatesasgauges.Thenotches
allowdifferentpartsoftheplatetobendwhenaborerestrictionisencountered.Morecomplexsystemsexistforinspectingvariousaspectsofthe
pipeline.Intelligentpigsareusedtoinspectthepipelinewithsensorsandrecordthedataforlateranalysis.Thesepigsusetechnologiessuchasmagnetic
fluxleakage(MFL)andultrasonicstoinspectthepipeline.Intelligentpigsmayalsousecaliperstomeasuretheinsidegeometryofthepipeline.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pigging

4/8

10/27/2016

PiggingWikipedia

In1961,thefirstintelligentpigwasrunbyShellDevelopment.Itdemonstratedthataselfcontainedelectronic
instrumentcouldtraverseapipelinewhilemeasuringandrecordingwallthickness.Theinstrumentused
electromagneticfieldstosensewallintegrity.In1964Tuboscoperanthefirstcommercialinstrument.Itused
MFLtechnologytoinspectthebottomportionofthepipeline.Thesystemusedablackboxsimilartothoseused
onaircrafttorecordtheinformationitwasbasicallyahighlycustomizedanalogtaperecorder.Untilrecently,
taperecording(althoughdigital)wasstillthepreferredrecordingmedium.Asthecapacityandreliabilityof
solidstatememoryimproved,mostrecordingmediamovedawayfromtapetosolidstate.
Capacitivesensorprobesareusedtodetectdefectsinpolyethylenepipegaspipeline.Theseprobesareattached
tothepigbeforeitissentthroughthepolyethylenepipetodetectanydefectsintheoutsideofthepipewall.This
isdonebyusingatripleplatecapacitivesensorinwhichelectrostaticwavesarepropagatedoutwardthroughthe
pipe'swall.Anychangeindielectricmaterialresultsinachangeincapacitance.[9]Testingwasconductedby
NETLDOEresearchlabattheBattelleWestJeffersonsPipelineSimulationFacility(PSF)nearColumbus,
Ohio.[10]

Apiglauncher/receiver,belongingto
thenaturalgaspipelinein
Switzerland.

Intelligentpigging
Modernintelligentor"smart"pigsarehighlysophisticatedinstrumentsthatincludeelectronicsandsensors
thatcollectvariousformsofdataduringtheirtripthroughthepipeline.Theyvaryintechnologyand
complexitydependingontheintendeduseandthemanufacturer.
Theelectronicsaresealedtopreventleakageofthepipelineproductintotheelectronicssinceproductscan
rangefrombeinghighlybasictohighlyacidicandcanbeofextremelyhighpressureandtemperature.Many
pigsusespecificmaterialsaccordingtotheproductinthepipeline.Powerfortheelectronicsistypically
providedbyonboardbatterieswhicharealsosealed.Datarecordingmaybebyvariousmeansrangingfrom
analogtape,digitaltape,orsolidstatememoryinmoremodernunits.
Thetechnologyusedvariesbytheservicerequiredandthedesignofthepig,eachpiggingserviceprovider
mayhaveuniqueandproprietarytechnologiestoaccomplishtheservice.Surfacepittingandcorrosion,as
wellascracksandwelddefectsinsteel/ferrouspipelinesareoftendetectedusingmagneticfluxleakage
(MFL)pigs.Other"smart"pigsuseelectromagneticacoustictransducerstodetectpipedefects.Caliperpigs
canmeasuretheroundnessofthepipelinetodetermineareasofcrushingorotherdeformations.Somesmart
pigsuseacombinationoftechnologies,suchasprovidingMFLandcaliperfunctionsinasingletool.Trials
ofpigsusingacousticresonancetechnologyhavebeenreported.[11]
Duringthepiggingrunthepigisunabletodirectlycommunicatewiththeoutsideworldduetothedistance
undergroundorunderwaterand/orthematerialsthatthepipeismadeof.Forexample,steelpipelines
effectivelypreventanysignificantradiocommunicationsoutsidethepipe.Itisthereforenecessarythatthe
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pigging

Insertingapigintoanaturalgaspipeline

5/8

10/27/2016

PiggingWikipedia

piguseinternalmeanstorecorditsownmovementduringthetrip.Thismaybedonebyodometers,gyroscopeassistedtiltsensorsandother
technologies.[12]Thepigrecordsthispositionaldatasothatthedistanceitmovesalongwithanybendscanbeinterpretedlatertodeterminetheexact
pathtaken.
Locationverification
Locationverificationisoftenaccomplishedbysurfaceinstrumentsthatrecordthepig'spassagebyeitheraudible,magnetic,radiotransmissionorother
means.Thesensorsrecordwhentheydetectthepassageofthepig(timeofarrival)thisisthencomparedtotheinternalrecordforverificationor
adjustment.TheexternalsensorsmayhaveGlobalPositioningSystemcapability[13]toassistintheirlocation.Afewpigpassageindicatorstransmitthe
pig'spassage,timeandlocation,viasatelliteuplink.[14]ThepigitselfcannotuseGPSasthemetalpipeblockssatellitesignals.
Afterthepiggingrunhasbeencompleted,thepositionaldatafromtheexternalsensorsiscombinedwiththepipelineevaluationdata(corrosion,cracks,
etc.)fromthepigtoprovidealocationspecificdefectmapandcharacterization.Inotherwords,thecombineddatarevealstotheoperatorthelocation,
typeandsizeofeachpipedefect.Thisinformationisusedtojudgetheseverityofthedefectandhelprepaircrewslocateandrepairthedefectquickly
withouthavingtodigupexcessiveamountsofpipeline.Byevaluatingtherateofchangeofaparticulardefectoverseveralyears,proactiveplanscanbe
madetorepairthepipelinebeforeanyleakageorenvironmentaldamageoccurs.
Theinspectionresultsaretypicallyarchived(perhapsinPipelineOpenDataStandardformat)forcomparisonwiththeresultsoflaterpiggingrunson
thesamepipeline.

Inpopularculture
ApighasbeenusedasaplotdeviceinthreeJamesBondfilms:DiamondsAreForever,whereBonddisabledapigtoescapefromapipelineThe
LivingDaylights,whereapigwasmodifiedtosecretlytransportapersonthroughtheIronCurtainandTheWorldIsNotEnough,whereapigwasused
tomoveanuclearweaponthroughapipeline.
ApigwasalsousedasaplotdeviceintheTonyHillermanbookTheSinisterPigwhereanabandonedpipelinefromMexicototheUnitedStateswas
usedwithapigtotransportillegaldrugs.
Apiglauncherwasfeaturedintheseason2episode"PipelineFever"oftheanimatedshowArcher(TVseries),whereinSterlingArcherandLanaKane
aretaskedwithgoingintoaswampanddefendingapiglauncherfromradicalenvironmentalistJoshuaGray.

Seealso
Hydraulicallyactivatedpipelinepigging
Pipelinetransport
Pipelinevideoinspection
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pigging

6/8

10/27/2016

PiggingWikipedia

Guidedwavetesting,anothernondestructivetestingtechniquethatcanbeusedforpipelineinspection
Icepigging
RoboticNonDestructiveTesting

References
1."HowDoesPipelinePiggingWork?".RIGGZONE.com.Retrieved20101019.
2.http://www.pipedata.net/store/books/Book04/Book04_TOC.pdf
3.MiscellaneousFabricatedSupports(http://www.pipingtech.com/products/miscellaneousfabricatedsupports.htm)PipingTechnology&Products,(retrievedMay
2012)
4."SERVINOXpigspeedregulationunit".servinox.com.Retrieved20110112.
5.wfaa.com(http://www.wfaa.com/news/investigates/PipelineFlyingPigcrashesthroughGrandPrairiehome105387413.html)
6."I.S.T.MolchtechnikGmbH".Piggingsystems.com.Retrieved20100414.
7.netherlocks.com(http://www.netherlocks.com/products/processinterlocking/)
8.netherlocks.com(http://www.netherlocks.com/processinterlocking/theintegrationofelectroniccomponentsintomechanicalvalveinterlockingsolutions/)
9.http://gradworks.umi.com/14/71/1471527.html
10.http://www.netl.doe.gov/technologies/oilgas/publications/td/dtrs56benchmark_report_final.pdf
11.PressreleasefromGassco,29May2009(http://www.gassco.no/en/media/newsarchive/Newtechonologyrevolutionisesgaspipelinechecks/)
12.PIGSignaller(http://www.gdengineering.com/hi_t_pigalert.asp)
13.Pigtracking(http://www.enduropls.com/products/tracking)
14.PigPassageIndicator(http://www.tdwilliamson.com/en/Products/PiggingProducts/Indicators/Documents/PIG_SIG%20NI.pdf)

Externallinks
MagneticFluxLeakageinformation(http://www.battelle.org/pipetechnology/MFL/MFL98Main.html)
WikimediaCommonshas
InlineInspectionAssociation(http://www.iliassociation.org/)
mediarelatedtoPigging.
InlineInspectionandPipelinePiggingResource(http://www.smartpigs.net/)
OilPipelineCracksEvadingRobotic'SmartPigs'ProbesusedbyExxonandothercompaniesaren't
spottingflawsthatcausemassivespills(http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323455104579015140328479048.html)August16,
2013WSJ
Retrievedfrom"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pigging&oldid=739732717"
Categories: Petroleumproduction Pipelinetransport Pigging Cleaningtools
Thispagewaslastmodifiedon16September2016,at16:25.
TextisavailableundertheCreativeCommonsAttributionShareAlikeLicenseadditionaltermsmayapply.Byusingthissite,youagreetothe
TermsofUseandPrivacyPolicy.WikipediaisaregisteredtrademarkoftheWikimediaFoundation,Inc.,anonprofitorganization.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pigging

7/8

10/27/2016

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pigging

PiggingWikipedia

8/8