Alaska Pipeline Insulation

Crude oil moving through 800 miles trans-Alaska pipeline must be kept at relatively high temperature approximately 180 degrees Fahrenheit to maintain fluidity of oil in arctic weather. GE provided a product called Therm-O-Trol which is metal bonded polyurethane foam especially formulated for arctic insulation. Another problem was solved using Therm-O-Case which is a double walled oil well casing with multi-layered insulation which provides a protective barrier against heat transfer. Evolving from Gemini and Apollo, this product solved problem involving bringing in hot crude oil from 2,000 foot deep wells to surface without transferring oil heat to the surrounding permafrost soil; heat transfer could melt the frozen terrain and cause dislocation that might destroy expensive well casings.

Full article: http://hdl.handle.net/hdl:2060/20070019732