Perlite House, 115 Attingham Drive, Dudley, West Midlands, DY1 3HY

Tel : 0044 7837 168452, Fax: 01384 257726, email: enquiries@PerliteMS.co.uk

Removal of Frozen Perlite resolves longstanding problem for Linde

Perlite Management Services Ltd was recently requested to inspect a 50m high cold box in Toulouse,
France which was showing signs of ice formation around
the top 5 metres.

It was identified that due to a minor failure of a rubber

gaiter, a leak had developed, which had gone unnoticed
for some time. PMS were approached by Linde as they were
aware of our experience of emptying a cold box previously
which had been completely full of frozen perlite, in various
stages of solidification. ( This cold box at Air Liquide in Stoke
had required the use of a variety of techniques to be used
dependent on the differences in the state of the frozen
perlite.)

After discussions with the Linde engineers, to propose

solutions to this problem, PMS was initially contracted to
produce outline procedures for the various tasks involved in the project, to be issued for tender to
local French contractors. The solution was to remove all of the perlite for replacement, starting with
the top 5 metre layer of frozen perlite.

PMS were then requested to provide on-site supervision to help oversee the project. PMS director
Paul Brown was on site for 10 days supervising the night shift and providing technical advice as
required to the Linde engineers.
It was necessary to initially enter the cold
box from the top, using rope access, to
break up the frozen perlite. The perlite was
removed manually and transferred to
ground level by a temporary lift which was
installed up the side of the cold box.
This perlite had to be completely removed
before it was safe to extract the remaining
dry perlite using tankers extracting through
the top manway.

Upon completion of the perlite extraction, the opportunity was

taken to inspect the internals of the cold box prior to re-filling
with fresh perlite. This was carried out utilising a large crane to
lift the perlite which was supplied from France in 3m3 bags,
which enabled the installation of about 500m3 per day.

Who would believe an inexpensive rubber gaiter could result in

such an expensive solution to a problem.

PR05 Reg No. 6936273 VAT No. 975 3614 90 Page 1