Positive Material Identification (PMI) TÜV SÜD America Inc. Acquires PetroChem Inspection Services, Inc. of Houston, TX

PetroChem Inspection Services, Inc. has developed a comprehensive program that meets a major need in the refining, petrochemical and energy industries for material verification. As the industry leader in mechanical integrity services, PetroChem has put together a program that addresses the major elements required for a successful material verification program.

The Problem

The unintentional mixing of specified materials has caused serious injuries and deaths in process industries that use low or high pressures, hazardous materials or exacting material specifications critical to the performance of a component. Material Test Reports (MTRs) received by suppliers have been the traditional method to track specified materials. However, during the fabrication, installation or reassembly of components during routine maintenance, it becomes harder to track if mixing of specified materials has occurred. In addition, historic data of existing critical component systems is often lacking or missing altogether.  

Regulatory agencies such as the American Petroleum Institute (API) have issued recommended practices (API RP-578) for material verification in order to help the owner/users maintain the mechanical integrity of their systems and to prevent catastrophic release of highly hazardous materials. With the increase of accidents and injuries over the last few years attributed to use of improper materials, the oversight and auditing of material verification programs have also increased. In general, a material verification program that follows recognized and established good engineering practices are an important part of a quality assurance program that prevents accidents and economic hardships to the owner/user.

Current Industry Practices

The most commonly used methods for qualitative and quantitative material verification is portable spectrographic units utilizing (XRF) X-Ray Fluorescence and (OES) Optical Emission Spectroscopy. These units bring the “metallurgical laboratory” into the field to verify that the correct materials have been installed. This includes individual base components, and their joining materials such as welding, bolting, and gaskets.

(XRF) X-Ray Fluoroscopy uses a radiation source to excite the material under test and obtains an elemental
fluorescent spectrograph of the elements of the material. This is then compared to commonly used material grades stored in the units library. This is an extremely accurate test method to verify some low-alloy steels, most high-alloy steels and other select metal alloys. The limitation of (XRF) is the inability to quantify light elements such as Carbon, Silicon, Sulfur, and Phosphorous.

(OES) Optical Emission Spectroscopy employs a spark or arc to excite the material under test obtaining a full spectrum of light wavelengths. This method provides a quantitative percentage of all metals and metal alloys and will verify the light element content such as carbon in low alloy steels and high alloy stainless steels that (XRF) cannot quantify.

Owner/users have purchased this equipment which operators with minimum training or experience have used, or have used service providers with operators having the similar levels of training and experience. Competency of operators by verified by examination is rare, as is refresher training for updates in the technology.  Most use the test equipment without having a written procedure for the equipment in use. Some material verification programs are not formally written, updated to the latest standards, or exclude items auditing agencies will be monitoring.

The Solution

PetroChem Inspection Services, Inc. will provide you with a material verification program that will meet and exceed the mechanical integrity program requirements of the industry. We have put together a program for PMI that can be used to satisfy your needs:

• A Material Verification Procedure that meets the latest revision to API RP 578 and other standards
• The latest (XRF) and (OES) Equipment
• Certified PetroChem Inspectors in (XRF) and (OES)
• Test procedures for both (XRF) and (OES)
• Qualification and Certification Procedures for (XRF) and (OES) Operators
• Training for (XRF) and (OES) Operators
• Consultation for your Material Verification and PMI Programs

For more information, contact us.