.

·-· ----------- -----------

Robert Buchanan, Seal far Lite

Americas, offers a review of
industry codes and standards as
they relate to pipeline coatings.

L
et's begin with sorne analogies to pipeline
coatings, then move to how various codes
and standards view them. 1 will start with the
basics then take a deeper look at a couple of
common standards, and then give my thoughts on
the performance of pipeline coatings.
Since I have a background in building
construction, 1 like analogies that relate. The house,
condo or apartment that you live in was built
based on prescriptive building codes as written by
the city, region, state, or country that you live in.
Building departments have defined codes, licensed
 contractor qualification requirements and inspection
procedures that ensure that dwellings are built to mínimum
standards. This article is intended to discuss codes that
relate to pipeline construction, much like the codes that
are intended to make sure that dwellings are well built.
This article also discusses standards which, in the same
analogy, would be how the concrete in the foundation, the
lumber in the framing or the roofing materials are required
to perform when used for construction relative to the
specific building code. The testing for these materials might
be qualification testing at a laboratory or in-situ testing on
a site.
In the US and Canada there are regulatory bodies that
look after pipeline construction. Those bodies might be
state, provincial or federal agencies, depending on the
scope of the pipeline. lt appears to be very neat and well
structured, but pipelines cross borders and international
pipelines not only cross country borders but are often
onshore and offshore, or transition between the two.
That is not so neat and well structured, so the question is:
who governs the codes and standards that relate to these
pipelines? The many aspects of pipeline construction is
complex, but this article will attempt to address only those
that relate to coatings and, to an extent, impact of, or to,
cathodic protection (CP).
The corrosion process
To start off with a basic lesson in the principles of
corrosion protection design: in order for corrosion to occur,
there are four required elements; an anode, a cathode, an
electrolyte and an externa[ circuit. By removing any one of
these, the corrosion process will stop. A statement made
by Alan Kehr is a fundamental in the pipeline corrosion
protection industry. Kehr is a leading American expert on
pipeline coatings and stated that externa[ pipe coatings are
"intended to form a continuous film of electrical insulating
material over the metallic surface to be protected. The
function of such a coating is to isolate the metal from
direct contact with the electrolyte, interposing a high
electrical resistance so that electrochemical reactions
cannot occur." In this statement, Kehr is advocating that
the corrosion process can be stopped by removing the
externa[ circuit from the equation - essentially blocking
the availability for current to flow.
Another respected expert in the field of corrosion
coatings is Dr. Dennis Wong, recently retired as Technology
Group Manager, ShawCor CR&D. His comment about
pipeline coatings is: "The objective of a coating is to
provide a barrier to the corroding species, not as sorne
claim that their coating allows CP current to go through,
which defeats the purpose of putting on a coating." Sorne
of the concepts and diagrams shown in this article are also
attributed to him and Catherine Lam from a presentation
they gave entitled 'Compatibility of Pipeline Coatings to
Cathodic Protection', presented at the lnternational Pipeline
Coatings Technology Conference in 2017.
The basic functions of a coating are to block water,
oxygen and other corrosion species, and have these
attributes:

f) Excellent adhesion to metal surface. ✓➔ e>K ✓

H20 f) Sufficient mechanical strength. ✓
"'�i,!----02
<����
111111
Corrosion species
f) Low permeability. ✓
f) High electrical resistance. OC·
;----\

Figure 1. Purpose of a pipeline coating. f) Cathodic disbondment resistance. ---'7

§192.-461 E:l.1ernal conosion control: 5 H,n·e propertie compatible with m1y

Protertin roating.
(a) Eacb extemal protective coating.
wbether conducti\·e or in ulating. applied for
the purpose of extemal cono ion control
umst-
1 Be applie<l on a properly prepared
urface:
2 HaYe ufficient adhe<,ion to the metal
urfa e to effecti\·ely resist lmderfilm
migration of moi nu·e:
3 Be 1fficiently ductile to resi t
racking:
4) HaYe sufficient s trength to resi$t
damage due to handling and oil tress: and.
()
supplemeurnl célthodic prorecriou.
(b) Each externa! protective coatiug which
i'> an electrically iusnléltiug rype musr
also haYe low moisture ab 01vtio11 aud high
electrical reSi -tance.
e) Each externa! protective coating must
be inspected just prior to lowering the pipe
iuto the ditch and backfilling. aud auy damage
detrimental to effectiYe corrosiou control must
be repaired.
(d Eacb externa! protecriYe coating must
be protected from damage resultiug from
adwr e ditch conditious or damage from
supponing blocks.
e) If coated pipe is iustalled by boring.
dri\'ing. or otber similar method. precautions
must be takeu to mi.ni.mize damage to the
coating during insrallation.
§19S.238 Extenrnl coating.
(a) 1'0 pipeline system compoueut may
be buried or subrnerged uule s that
compouent ha an externa! protective
coa1iug that-
1) I designed to mitigate con-osion of
tbe bu1iecl or ubmergecl componeut:
(2) Ha s11fficient aclhesion to the metal
su1face to pre,·em uuclerfilm nlig:ratíon of
moisture:
(3) Is sufficiently cluctile to resist
cracking:
f .t l Ha euough streugtb to resisr clamage
due to handling and oil stres : ancl
5) Suppom auy supplemenral cathodic
protection.
In addiriou. if any insularing-type coatiug is
usecl ir um t haYe low moi ture absorptiou
and proYide ltigh ele rrical resistauce.
1 b 1 Ali pipe o:11iug mm,t be iuspected
ju r p1ior to lowe1ing the pipe iuto tbe ditch

Figure 2. PHMSA requirements.

34 World Pipelines / FEBRUARY 2019

 f) Chemically and physically stable.
Codes
There are various national and international codes and
standards that make comments about coating attributes.
The US Department of Transportation Pipeline
Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) has
regulations relating to pipelines that are called the Code of
Federal Regulations (CFR) 192 and 195.
8 CFR 192 - Natural or other gases.
8 CFR 195 - Hazardous liquids.
CFR 192 relates to gas pipelines and CFR 195 relates to
liquids pipelines, and both make statements relative to
corrosion protection and coatings. Figure 2 shows sorne
excerpts from these codes.
CFR 192 views attributes such as good adhesion,
resistance to migration of moisture, low moisture
absorption and high electrical resistance as stringent
requirements. Likewise, CFR 195 views adhesion, moisture
resistance and electrical resistance as principal to an
effective anti-corrosion coating. The interesting point is
that CFR 192 has a section which states that, under certain
conditions, the pipe must be protected against externa[
corrosion by a non-shielding coating. This is contrary to
the body of code but does specify that the "non-shielding
coating" type is considered to be fusion bonded epoxy
(FBE) and, in sorne cases, 100% solids, 2-component liquid
epoxy (2CLE). No adhesive based or thick film coatings are
mentioned.
Essentially, the requirements are:
8 Be designed to mitigate corrosion of the buried or
submerged pipeline.
8 Have sufficient adhesion to metal surface to prevent
underfilm migration of moisture.
8 Be ductile to resist cracking.
8 Have enough strength to resist damage due to handling
and soil stress.
8 Support any supplemental CP.
8 Have low moisture absorption and provide high
electrical resistance.
In Canada, if a pipeline is contained within a province,
the pipeline would fall under the jurisdiction of a provincial
regulator. For example, in Alberta, these pipelines are
regulated by the Energy Resources Conservation Board. lf a
pipeline crosses provincial or international boundaries, the
pipeline is regulated by the National Energy Board (NEB) -
and the majority of pipelines operated by major pipeline
operating companies are regulated under the NEB. The
NEB is an independent federal agency with the purpose to
regulate international and interprovincial aspects of the oíl,
gas and electric utility industries. However, specific details
relative to the construction of a pipeline tend to fall to
36 World Pipelines FEBRUARY 2019
standards as outlined by Canadian Standards Association
(CSA).
Standards
There are two well-known standards that are commonly
referenced. NACE SPOl69 covers coatings and CP, but really
focuses on the CP side. NACE also has various standards
related to coatings but they are not so comprehensive. For
coatings, a set of key industry standards for plant and field
applied pipeline coatings is ISO 21809 and its respective
parts and, currently, NACE has established a task group to
look at adopting that standard.
NACE SPOl69 clearly states that coatings are the
primary corrosion protective system and that CP is used as
supplemental protection. Furthermore, the standard states
that desirable attributes of a good coating are electrical
resistance and that it will act as a moisture barrier. This is
what was described earlier in the statement by Kehr.
The standard also addresses adhesion and makes the
comment that unbonded coatings could shield electrical
current, thus making the case that coatings with good
adhesion quality should be used. By definition, shielding is
caused by sorne externa[ material that prevents cathodic
current from getting to the steel. lt is not the intent to
bring highly electrically resistive coatings into this list.
In Canada, pipeline design and construction decisions
are guided by a set of comprehensive standards issued
by the CSA. CSA standards set out specific design
criteria, including the depth at which a pipeline is
buried, the thickness of pipe walls, the integrity of the
welding process connecting the pipe, and the coating.
CSA Z662 covers the design, construction, operation
and maintenance of oil and gas pipeline systems and
underground storage of petroleum products and LNG.
Within CSA Z662, Chapter 9 covers corrosion control
requirements for coatings and CP. For coatings, the chapter
discusses requirements for both epoxy and polyethylene
type coatings.
Furthermore, CSA Z-245.20 Series, Plant Applied Externa!
Coating for Steel Pipe, covers the qualification, application,
inspection, testing, handling and storage of materials
required for plant-applied FBE and 2-layer and 3-layer
polyethylene coatings.
There is also a field joint standard, CSA Z-245.30, which
covers field applied coatings with mínimum standards for
testing, which are loosely based on plant applied coating
standards. The interesting thing about Z-245.30, is that it
really focuses on application quality and applicator training.
As excerpted from Z-245.30, it "Covers the qualification,
application, inspection, testing, handling and storage of
materials required for coatings applied externally to steel
piping in the field or a shop." Key words here are:
8 Qualification.
8 Application.
8 lnspection.
Other excerpts from CSA Z-245.30 are:
 5.2 General - Oualification
Coating materials shall be:
O Qualified by the manufacturer to be in accordance
with the requirements of Clause 5.3 (Qualification). The
certificate of material qualification shall be available
from the manufacturer upon request by the company or
application company.
6.1.2.5 Certificate of applicator qualification
O Upon successful completion of the qualification testing,
the application company shall provide a certificate of
applicator qualification that states the following:
• The applicator's name.
• The coating system or systems for which the
applicator is qualified.
• The MQAP used to qualify the applicator.
• The date of qualification testing.
O The required evidence of qualification shall be referred
to as a certificate of applicator qualification. For
traceability, the certificate shall provide a unique
identifier for the qualified applicator.
In reading the standards excerpts, you can see a lot
of emphasis on ensuring quality application of pipeline
coatings.
lnternationally there are a number of pipeline coatings
standards that have evolved from the likes of NACE
(American), DIN (German) and EN (European), all to become
a part of ISO (lnternational) standards. The evolution
has resulted in the ISO 21809 suite of standards that
cover pipeline coatings (mainline and field joint). Using
ISO 21809-3 as an example, this covers field joints and,
amongst the ISO 21809 suite, it has the broadest coverage
of coating technologies.
The standard addresses this and, as described in the
article, the standard "contains a 'library' of field joint
coating systems and materials. The standard is impartial
and does not seek to directly contrast one system with
another."
However, the standard also "defines requirements for
the following:
O Application procedure specifications.
O Pre-qualification trials.
Table 1. What is required by SP 0169?
Property High dielectric strength
coatings
Effective electrical insulator Yes
Effective moisture barrier Yes
Reduces CP current requirements Yes
Improves current distribution Yes
Damage resistant Yes
Good adhesion Yes
38 World Pipelines FEBRUARY 2019
O Pre-production trial.
O lnspection and testing plan.
O Quality assurance vs quality control."
The above elements ensure that a coating is properly
installed.
O Common aspects between ISO and CSA.
O Performance attributes of various types or technologies.
O Qualification - of the applied systems and the
applicator.
Passive and active corrosion protection
Coatings are passive systems that prevent corrosion from
occurring by blocking corrosive elements from getting to
the steel, like the paint on a car, and are intended to be the
primary provider of corrosion protection on a pipeline.
CP systems are active systems that are designed as a
back up to coatings in the case of damage or holidays. A
typical passive/active system analogy is in fire protection
on commercial buildings. Firewalls or fire proofing of
structural members are passive systems, whereas sprinklers
and fire extinguishers are active systems. The passive
system is the primary protection and the active system
works in conjunction. The challenge with both active and
passive systems is their functionality 100% of the time.
In reality, functionality largely depends on how well the
systems are installed and maintained.
Functionality of pipeline corrosion protection systems
is often impacted by geographic realities, which can be
seen in industry trends. In the North American market,
the predominant type of pipeline coating is FBE, while in
many other parts of the world the predominant coating
type is 3-layer polyolefin (3LPO be it polyethylene or
polypropylene). There are various theories but the choice
is probably a function of one or more of the following
factors:
O Cost: FBE is economical and is the most 'friendly' to CP
due to the fact that it is a thin film coating, although it
is still electrically resistive.
O Availability of transportation and construction
infrastructure: lt is important to get the coated pipe to
the right-of-way and into service without significant
damage. That is easier in North America than in a
Middle Eastern desert or on an offshore laybarge.
O The CP system: CP is complex and, in many situations,
engineering an effective system is difficult with ali
the variables that must be considered. Also, in many
instances, once the system is installed it may not be
properly maintained.
Going back to the comment about functionality, if the
transportation and construction infrastructure is good
and the CP can be well engineered and maintained, then a
thin film, CP friendly coating works well. In North America
 there is more focus on CP engineering than anywhere else
in the world, so the industry tends to gravitate to lower
cost coatings that will be reliant on the active CP system.
Outside of North America, corrosion engineers prefer to
apply focus to thick film coatings and engineer the CP
as a true back up system. lt is true that multi-layer thick
film, high dielectric strength coatings cost more than thin
film coatings, but the higher capital expenditure (C APEX)
cost is balanced by reduced construction (coating repair)
costs, higher construction productivity and lower operating
expenditure (OPEX) costs of maintaining a more complex
CP system.
Coatings can therefore be categorised in two very basic
ways: thin and thick.
How thin film coating works
O Thin film 'thirsty' coating.
O Dry, it is an effective insulator.
O Wet, its resistivity drops, possibly becomes semi­
conductive, and may allow cathodic current to pass.
O Cannot be overlooked because of fear of failure.
Once charted, the mix of coating looks like Table 2.
By design, 3-layer systems are thicker and insulate the
substrate from the electrolyte, thus minimising future CP
requirements. On a worldwide basis there have been a
number of technological advancements over the last 40
years to provide better long-term performance of plant
applied and field applied joint coatings. These newer
coatings provide for reduced water permeability, increased
electrical resistance, improved adhesion-to-steel and better
mechanical protection.
Pipeline safety
The fact that pipeline failures are not in the news every day
is a testament to how pipelines are built. Based on statistics
gathered by both PHMSA and the Canadian Energy Pipeline
Association (CEPA), pipelines have incredible safety records.
Those pipelines have been protected with high dielectric
strength coatings including coa[ tar enamel, Yellow Jacket�
3-layer polyolefin along with FBE, with many of the field
joints coated with coal tar, polyethylene tapes and heat­

O More damage prone, which is why CP is a must.

shrinkable sleeves.

O For dual-layer or thicker liquid epoxy systems, do they Pipeline owners

work the same way? In the introduction, a number of comments were noted
relative to who governs the construction of major pipeline
How thick film coating works projects when crossing international borders, if they are
O Thick film barrier coating (3LPE, 3LPP). onshore, offshore or a combination. Jurisdiction, especially
in international waters, is complex and often relies on the
O Wet or dry, it is an effective insulator. pipeline owner to specify how it is built and protected.
Driving quality is the shear cost of building something that
O Highly damage resistant.
an owner will want to have last a long time.
O Reduced reliance on CP due to toughness and high Since the reality is that pipelines are very expensive
dielectric properties. and major pipeline owners are going to build them well,
from the author's company's experience, specifications
O They shield electrical current - by design. for international pipeline construction requirements are
extremely well detailed, with quality
Table 2. Thin and thick coating systems assurance and product performance
Coating System System description Thickness (mils) well understood and documented.
FBE Fusion bonded epoxy 15 - 20
FBE + ARO Dual-Layer FBE or 40 - 60 Conclusion
liquid epoxy Ali good pipeline coating systems
Thin film 2PLE 100 % solids liquid 25 - 30 have the potential to shield the
epoxy CP system, because good coatings
2PLE + ARO Corrosion + ARO or 40 - 60 must be good insulators with high
high build system dielectric strength and should not
Goal tar Hot wrap system 100+ allow CP current to pass (through
PE tapes Cold-applied or heat- 40 - 100 or along a path of absorbed
fused electrolyte). Coatings are designed
2LPE 2-layer polyethylene 40 - 60 to bond to the steel and, as such,
3LPE/PP 3-layer polyethylene or 80 - 120 shielding should not be a major
Thick film polypropylene consideration. However, if the path
VE coatings Visco-elastic + outer 80 - 120 for CP current to get to the steel
wraps pipe is along the absorbed water
PE, mesh or wax tapes, or electrolyte path underneath the
Field-ap�lied heat-shrink sleeves, 60 - 120 coating, then that tends to defeat
visco-elastic the purpose of the coating. 9

40 World Pipelines ' FEBRUARY 2019

J