TY - GEN
T1 - Volatile corrosion inhibitor for prevention of black powder in sales gas pipelines
AU - Belarbi, Z.
AU - George, B.
AU - Moradighadi, N.
AU - Young, D.
AU - Nesic, S.
AU - Singer, M.
AU - Nogueira, R. P.
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors would like to thank the Petroleum Institute, Abu Dhabi, UAE for their financial support. The authors are grateful to the technical support from ICMT’s staff, in particular Mr. Alexis Barxias and Mr. Cody Shafer.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 by NACE International.
PY - 2018
Y1 - 2018
N2 - Black powder is a generic term used to describe entrained corrosion products that can accumulate in sales gas pipelines, potentially damaging process equipment. Black powder mitigation is a challenge in the gas industry. Many factors govern the formation of black powder, including gas composition (particularly CO2, H2S, and O2 impurities), condensation rate, relative humidity, and the existence of hygroscopic salts on the steel surface. The use of volatile corrosion inhibitors (VCIs) could constitute an economic and effective black powder mitigation method. However, little is known about the applicability of VCIs in sales gas environments. Therefore, it is important to study the effect of the key operating parameters on the efficiency of VCIs. The main goal of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of model inhibitor compounds with different functional groups (amine, thiol) and commercial inhibitors as candidates for black powder mitigation. The inhibition efficiencies of these VCIs were determined in dewing and hygroscopic conditions in both sweet (CO2) and sour (CO2/H2S) environments. Weight loss methods were employed to evaluate each VCI. Steel specimens were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and high resolution optical profilometry. Based on the results of laboratory tests, it is found that volatile corrosion inhibitors can be used to prevent corrosion in a sales gas system with carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide. The tested amine (morpholine) seemed to affect the pH of the condensed water but did not have "filming" properties. The obtained data show that VCIs reduced the mass of corrosion product and, therefore, the amount of black powder that potentially could be formed in CO2/H2S environments. Based on the measured corrosion rates and surface analysis of specimens, commercial inhibitor CI1 was shown to be most effective in inhibiting formation of black powder.
AB - Black powder is a generic term used to describe entrained corrosion products that can accumulate in sales gas pipelines, potentially damaging process equipment. Black powder mitigation is a challenge in the gas industry. Many factors govern the formation of black powder, including gas composition (particularly CO2, H2S, and O2 impurities), condensation rate, relative humidity, and the existence of hygroscopic salts on the steel surface. The use of volatile corrosion inhibitors (VCIs) could constitute an economic and effective black powder mitigation method. However, little is known about the applicability of VCIs in sales gas environments. Therefore, it is important to study the effect of the key operating parameters on the efficiency of VCIs. The main goal of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of model inhibitor compounds with different functional groups (amine, thiol) and commercial inhibitors as candidates for black powder mitigation. The inhibition efficiencies of these VCIs were determined in dewing and hygroscopic conditions in both sweet (CO2) and sour (CO2/H2S) environments. Weight loss methods were employed to evaluate each VCI. Steel specimens were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and high resolution optical profilometry. Based on the results of laboratory tests, it is found that volatile corrosion inhibitors can be used to prevent corrosion in a sales gas system with carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide. The tested amine (morpholine) seemed to affect the pH of the condensed water but did not have "filming" properties. The obtained data show that VCIs reduced the mass of corrosion product and, therefore, the amount of black powder that potentially could be formed in CO2/H2S environments. Based on the measured corrosion rates and surface analysis of specimens, commercial inhibitor CI1 was shown to be most effective in inhibiting formation of black powder.
KW - Black powder
KW - Carbon steel
KW - Sales gas
KW - Volatile corrosion inhibitor
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85053515340&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:85053515340
SN - 9781510864405
T3 - NACE - International Corrosion Conference Series
BT - Corrosion Conference and Expo 2018
T2 - Corrosion Conference and Expo 2018
Y2 - 15 April 2018 through 19 April 2018
ER -