Polyethylene Plants

Engineered Cleaning Solutions for Polymers

Polymer materials are difficult to remove and polyethylene plant cleaning projects are considered to be some of the most challenging jobs in the industrial cleaning industry. However, USA DeBusk makes polyethylene cleaning projects consistently successful by applying specialized technology and procedures. Each project is performed by specially trained crews led by experienced project managers.

USA DeBusk uses specially designed high-pressure hydro blasting/cutting tools to mechanically clean lines, loop reactors, vessels and heat exchangers in polyethylene plants. We make cleaning efficient through basic engineering:

Increasing the volume of water used in cleaning to the maximum capacity of the hoses

Specifying the largest hoses possible

Employing nozzle rotation to enhance effectiveness

Adding multiple cleaning heads and multiple lances whenever possible

Using the latest technology in nozzle designs to generate the fine, high-precision water stream needed to cut plastic

Proprietary mechanical abrasive cleaning

Lines & Loop Reactor Cleaning

Process lines and loop reactors are cleaned with our proprietary line-cleaning system. This system is designed for large-diameter piping and effectively dislodges the thin layer of hard-to-remove plastic that adheres to the wall ID.

These photos show piping before (left) when pipe walls were coated with a thin layer of white plastic and after (right), when it was cleaned to bare metal.

Exchanger Cleaning

For heat exchangers in polyethylene plants, we use multiple lances whenever possible.

This photo shows a triple rotary lancing machine operating at a polyethylene plant.

The exchanger was completely plugged with plastic. Our crew used a 70-foot-long tube lancer operating at 40,000 psi to clean the exchanger.

Reducing the cleaning time was critical and our team completed the job and allowed the exchanger to return to service within the least amount of time.

Vessel Cleaning

In polyethylene units, vessels can become filled with plastic. To clean them, USA DeBusk uses automated hydro blasting equipment and the most technically advanced nozzle designs that efficiently remove polymer material.

Extremely high water volumes and pressures minimize cleaning time. Standard cleaning involves using 40,000 psi pressure with hydro blasting specialists entering the vessel to perform the cleaning.

Projects can also be completed using rotating 3-D nozzles that eliminate hand cleaning and allow continuous operation. To achieve the high volumes and pressures necessary, we use pumps with up to 2,500 hp.