Brine corrosiveness

Carryover of oils (e.g., compressor lube oils), brine, corrosion inhibitors, well treating chemicals sand, corrosion scales, etc., from inlet separator... 

Portland cement is susceptible to corrosion by CO2 and H2S. The chemical attack by CO2 is called carbonation. A microsample technique has been developed to study the CO2 corrosion in cements, because the corrosion is difficult to monitor with common test procedures [264]. This technique is also advantageous as an accelerated testing method. A polymer-modified cement has been tested in field studies [694]. The addition of silica also improves chemical resistance [146], in particular brine corrosion. 

High density brine completion fluids also often require the use of corrosion inhibitors (8,9). Blends of thioglycolates and thiourea alkyl, alkenyl, or alkynyl phosphonium salts thiocyanate salts mercaptoacetic acid and its salts and the reaction products of pyridine or pyrazine derivatives with dicarboxylic acid monoanhydrides have been used as high density brine corrosion inhibitors. 

Solvent contaminated] carryover from upstream equipment example oil from compressor brines, corrosion inhibitors, sand, [corrosion products, see Section 1.3] /oxygen leaks into storage tank/inadequate corrosion control, example low pH causing corrosion/degradation via overheating, ex hot spots in reboiler tubes or fire tubes/ineffective filters/ineffective cleaning before startup/for amine absorbers corrosion products/FeS/chemicals used to treat well. 

The corrosive action of dilute hydrochloric acid at the temperatures encountered in distillation equipment cannot be satisfactorily withstood by any common materials. However, the copper-base alloys have been widely used for hydrochloric acid and brine corrosion. Although conditions are not the same in all plants, the use of copper-base alloy tubes for condensers and water-cooled exchangers appears to be increasing. One refiner has been using the following kinds of tubes ... 

Corrosion due to acid and that due to sulfide can never be completely segregated. Thus Table 9-4 on the corrosion of copper-base alloys shows attack by sulfur as well as attack by water, meaning that copper-base alloys were used at points where acid or brine corrosion required their use but that failure occurred mainly by sulfide corrosion. 

Removal of brine contaminants accounts for a significant portion of overall chlor—alkali production cost, especially for the membrane process. Moreover, part or all of the depleted brine from mercury and membrane cells must first be dechlorinated to recover the dissolved chlorine and to prevent corrosion during further processing. In a typical membrane plant, HCl is added to Hberate chlorine, then a vacuum is appHed to recover it. A reducing agent such as sodium sulfite is added to remove the final traces because chlorine would adversely react with the ion-exchange resins used later in the process. Dechlorinated brine is then resaturated with soHd salt for further use. 

Recovery of Ammonia. The filter Hquor contains unreacted sodium chloride and substantially all the ammonia with which the brine was originally saturated. The ammonia may be fixed or free. Fixed ammonia (ammonium chloride [12125-02-97]) corresponds stoichiometrically to the precipitated sodium bicarbonate. Free ammonia includes salts such as ammonium hydroxide, bicarbonate, and carbonate, and the several possible carbon—ammonia compounds that decompose at moderate temperatures. A sulfide solution may be added to the filter Hquor for corrosion protection. The sulfide is distilled for eventual absorption by the brine in the absorber. As the filter Hquor enters the distiller, it is preheated by indirect contact with departing gases. The warmed Hquor enters the main coke, tile, or bubble cap-fiUed sections of the distiller where heat decomposes the free ammonium compounds and steam strips the ammonia and carbon dioxide from the solution. 

Secondary coolants frequently are called brines because such fluids originally were mixtures of salts and water. Common refrigeration brines are water solutions of calcium chloride or sodium chloride. These brines must be inhibited against corrosion. 

Electric Submersible Oil Well Pump Cable. These cables are rated up to 5 kV and are designed for highly corrosive oil wells that besides oil also contain brine and other harsh chemicals as well as gases under high pressure and high temperatures (6). Insulations can be based on polypropylene for low temperature wells or on ethylene—propylene mbber which is compounded with special ingredients in order to resist the environments of high temperature wells (Fig. 4). 

Plant investment and maintenance costs are relatively high for a new iodine plant in the United States or in Japan because of the deep weUs required for brine production and disposal as weU as the corrosive nature of the plant streams. The principal materials cost is for chlorine and for sulfur dioxide, although in the United States the additives used for the brines, such as scale inhibitors and bactericides, also have a considerable influence on costs. 

Mb 10-14 temperatures superior corrosion resistance of all in contact with brine and various... 

Fig. 7. Temperature—pH limits for crevice corrosion of titanium alloys in naturally aerated sodium chloride-rich brines. The shaded areas indicate regions...

The costs of building and maintaining a bromine plant are high because of the corrosiveness of brine solutions which contain chlorine and bromine and require special materials of constmction. The principal operating expenses are for pumping, steam, environmental costs, energy, and chlorine. The plants are very capital intensive. 

Sodium chloride, an ordinaiy salt (NaCT), is the least expensive per volume of any brine available. It can be used in contact with food and in open systems because of its low toxicity. Heat transfer coefficients are relatively high. However, its drawbacks are it has a relatively high freezing point and is highly corrosive (requires inhibitors thus must Be checked on a regular schedule). 

Ethanol water is a solution of denatured grain alcohol. Its main advantage is that it is nontoxic and thus is widely used in the food and chemic industry. By using corrosion inhibitors it could be made non-corrosive for brine service. It is more expensive than methanol water and has somewhat lower heat transfer coefficients. As an alcohol derivate it is flammable. 

Cement and Concrete Concrete is an aggregate of inert reinforcing particles in an amorphous matrix of hardened cement paste. Concrete made of portland cement has limited resistance to acids and bases and will fail mechanically following absorption of crystalforming solutions such as brines and various organics. Concretes made of corrosion-resistant cements (such as calcium aluminate) can be selected for specific chemical exposures. 

Electrical conductivity is of interest in corrosion processes in cell formation (see Section 2.2.4.2), in stray currents, and in electrochemical protection methods. Conductivity is increased by dissolved salts even though they do not take part in the corrosion process. Similarly, the corrosion rate of carbon steels in brine, which is influenced by oxygen content according to Eq. (2-9), is not affected by the salt concentration [4]. Nevertheless, dissolved salts have a strong indirect influence on many local corrosion processes. For instance, chloride ions that accumulate at local anodes can stimulate dissolution of iron and prevent the formation of a film. Alkali ions are usually regarded as completely harmless, but as counterions to OH ions in cathodic regions, they result in very high pH values and aid formation of films (see Section 2.2.4.2 and Chapter 4). 

Buried steel pipelines for the transport of gases (at pressures >4 bars) and of crude oil, brine and chemical products must be cathodically protected against corrosion according to technical regulations [1-4], The cathodic protection process is also used to improve the operational safety and economics of gas distribution networks and in long-distance steel pipelines for water and heat distribution. Special measures are necessary in the region of insulated connections in pipelines that transport electrolytically conducting media. 

Fig. 10-9 Internal cathodic protection to avoid the danger of anodic corrosion behind an insulating joint in a brine pipeline.

Corrosion—various salts have different acidities (pH of brine can be controlled with lime, caustic soda, or calcium bicarbonate). 

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