RHC SA / Technology
The Reinhart Cleaning Technology.
A tailored hydromechanical cleaning (HMC) process, established in 1952. The tool is propelled by the fluid itself — and every single tool is a prototype.
01 — Principle
Propelled by the fluid itself.
Reinhart Hydrocleaning SA is specialised in pipe cleaning operations. With the experience gained over seven decades, the cleaning abilities and structure of each cleaning tool are adjusted to the specific parameters of each pipeline. Today this allows cleaning operations from an internal diameter of 42 mm up to 1600 mm, over a range of 450 km in a single run.
Every line has its own conditions — flow, kind of debris, ID variations, bends. They show us on every new operation that it is impossible to standardise RHC cleaning tools. The RCT starts where “standard” tools are at their limit. Our tools are customer-orientated: designed and fabricated to solve the problem and achieve the best possible cleaning result.
We offer three modes of engagement:
- One-time cleaning operations
- Repeated cleaning operations on schedule — for example once a year
- Repeated maintenance cleaning — for example once a month
02 — HMC vs pigging
Apples to oranges.
Over the years, the Reinhart Cleaning Technology improved and matured. In 1996, RCT was used offshore for the first time, in the Beatrice oil field on the north-east coast of Scotland. After this historical step, RCT developed differently from the standard pigging procedure.
Comparing RCT to pigging is like comparing “apples to oranges”. The aim of both techniques is to clean pipelines, but the methods are fundamentally different: the tools (not pigs) are custom-made, mechanically adjustable, and run in staged campaigns — from gentle to effective cleaning — rather than as a one-size pass.
The three big differences between HMC and pigging are explained in our technical documentation:
03 — The five tools
From first bore to bare metal.
Five tool families, developed over five decades. Used in staged campaigns, each prepares the line for the next — from “gentle” onwards to “effective” cleaning.
- T/01 — 1952 Basic-Tool The flagship. Spring-loaded V-shaped arms break and remove soft, brittle and medium-hard deposits. Often copied, never matched. ↓ PDF
- T/02 — 1970s Pre-Cleaning-Tool The pioneer. Where no one has ever been able to get through, it establishes a nominal through-bore — head diameter increased run by run. ↓ PDF
- T/03 — 1980s Rotating-Tool Shock and vibration penetrate hard deposit layers and dense paraffin, leaving residual deposit brittle and ready for removal. ↓ PDF
- T/04 — 1980s Scraping-Tool Cleans back to a bare-metal, SA 3-comparable finish — mill scale, corrosion and foreign particles — for pure gas pre-commissioning and dewaxing. ↓ PDF
- T/05 — 1990s Tiger-Tool Cleans pits and channel corrosion deep down, boosts biocide treatment efficiency and stops microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC). ↓ PDF
04 — Films
Watch the RCT at work.
05 — Documents
Case studies & papers.
Technical documentation, case studies and the company presentation — free to read and download.
Start a project