Case Study Overview

Site Sugar mill
Location Costa Rica
Repair Type Live leak repair
Defect Pinhole leak in 70mm alcohol line

Repair Products

Wrap & Seal Pipe Burst Tape, SylWrap Pipe Repair Bandage,
SylWrap Pipe Repair Contractor Case

Case Study PDF

Case Study Details

A SylWrap Pipe Repair Contractor Case contains enough products to seal up to six live leaks, making it the ideal kit to keep on-site for rapid response to emergences.

The sugar mill had approved its use several years earlier. Because the milling season in Costa Rica lasts only around four months, efficiency is paramount. Any downtime, disruption or delays to production are costly.

Numerous repairs had since been made by the sugar mill using their stock of Contractor Cases. These included 90 degree elbow bends in elevated pipelines and a particularly challenging Y-joint leaking from the exact point where three separate pipes connected. Most of these pipes carried hot water.

The leaking alcohol line was 70mm in diameter and transported alcohol juice extracted from sugar cane during fermentation, which would eventually be used in the production of spirits including rum and guaro, the official liquor of Costa Rica.

It ran vertically up the tower, with the leak developing in a weakened section as the line passed through a circular hole in one of the upper floors. Alcohol juice was left spraying through the pinhole at around two bar pressure.

As the pipe could not be isolated, Wrap & Seal Pipe Burst Tape was used as the leak sealant. Wrap & Seal is made from self-amalgamating silicone. When stretched by up to three times its length as it is wrapped around a pipe, the Tape fuses to form a solid rubber band capable of sealing live leaks .

Despite the space constraints around the pipe where it passed through the hole in the floor, the engineer making the repair managed to stretch the Tape to a suitable length so that it amalgamated successfully.

Once the engineer was satisfied the leak had been fully arrested and alcohol was no longer escaping, a SylWrap Pipe Repair Bandage was applied over the top to reinforce the Wrap & Seal.

SylWrap Bandage is a composite repair wrap containing a water activated resin. As it was wrapped and smoothed around the Wrap & Seal, it cured to form a rock-hard protective sleeve over the pipe.

Both Wrap & Seal and SylWrap Bandage have WRAS approval, meaning they are safe to use with drinking water. The sugar mill were therefore reassured that neither product would affect the alcohol juice inside the pipe.

Because the sugar mill already had all the products required to repair the pipe on-site in their Contractor Case, it took less than 20 minutes to seal the alcohol line from the moment the pinhole was discovered.

Only a minimal amount of alcohol juice escaped thanks to the speed and ease of the repair. All systems remained fully operational, meaning there was no disruption whilst the application took place.

Had a Contractor Case not been available, a much greater quantity of juice would have been lost. The mill may have even been forced to shut down the leaking section until such time as it could be repaired at significant cost both financially and to production.

Products Used

Wrap & Seal Pipe Burst Tape
Repair tape which amalgamates together to form a solid rubber band sealing live leaks

SylWrap Pipe Repair Bandage
Water-activated wrap sets rock hard to reinforce and protect repairs

Pipe Repair Contractor Case
Products were part of a Contractor Case kept on-site for making up to six live leak repairs

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