Techno-Economic Assessment of Coating-Based Resistive Heating Systems versus Conventional Heat Tracers

The economic feasibility of using thermal-sprayed coatings as de-icing elements for steel pipes was investigated. A data-intensive techno-economic model was developed to compare the expenditures associated with fabrication, installation, operation, and maintenance of coating-based heating systems with those of conventional heating cables. The multi-layered coating was composed of alumina, nickel-chromium, and copper, and was fabricated by using flame and cold spraying techniques. A sensitivity analysis was conducted to identify variables that can influence the cost of fabrication under a given set of assumptions. Scalability factors were incorporated in the model to estimate the total projected costs for the fabrication of coatings and installation of heat tracing for various pipe diameters and lengths. Although the material cost for both the coating and ordinary heat tracing was approximately $40 per meter of 2-inch diameter pipe, the fabrication of the coating system was more expensive due mainly to the labor cost. However, the coating-based heating system was found to be more effective than heat tracing due to the good adhesion between the heating elements and the outer pipe surface that resulted in reduced thermal contact resistance. The results suggest the economic viability of utilizing coating system on an industrial scale for steel pipes.