Flushing, pressurisation and stripping
Flushing is the operation of using a transport fluid to remove various kinds of substance or contaminant from piping, apparatus or plant sections. SOL offers the main technical inert gases as this fluid: for example, nitrogen, argon and in some cases carbon dioxide. The application of flushing technology, and in particular the type of gas, the pressure and operational flows and the way the flushing gas is distributed in the plant, are gauged to the specific needs of each customer on the basis of the know-how and experience SOL has acquired over the years.
Pressurisation is a technique used to guarantee that the pressure inside apparatus is greater than that of the surrounding environment, so as to ensure that no fluids (for example air) from the environment can enter, or to make it possible to remove any substances present simply by using pressure. Nitrogen, argon and in some cases carbon dioxide are used for this technology, to guarantee safety of operation and the absence of atmospheric oxygen that could lead to degradation by oxidation of several characteristic products of the chemical and pharmaceutical industries.
Stripping or degassing is used to transfer more volatile, or less soluble, components from a liquid phase to a gaseous phase to remove undesired components from certain products, with a view to possibly reusing the liquid: for example, oxygen can be removed from a liquid by bubbling an inert gas such as nitrogen or argon using SOL technology and equipment so as to avoid any oxidation.