November 2009 Vol. 236 No. 11

Features

Pre-Odorization Or Pickling Of New Natural Gas Pipe

Natural gas, odorless on its own, is odorized in order for people to be able to detect gas leaks by sense of smell. When a new gas pipeline in commissioned, the line itself will absorb and react with the odorant, leaving the gas odorless at the outlet, which constitutes a safety hazard. The line will continue to consume the odorant until it becomes saturated with odorant; only then will the odorized gas flowing through remain odorized until it reaches the end-users. In order to accelerate this process and be able to safely put the new line in service, it is recommended that installers pre-odorize or “pickle” the line. This article presents the case study of the pre-