Carbon and corrosion

Thermal Stability of Molten Carbonates and Corrosion of Metals... 

To prepare gas for evacuation it is necessary to separate the gas and liquid phases and extract or inhibit any components in the gas which are likely to cause pipeline corrosion or blockage. Components which can cause difficulties are water vapour (corrosion, hydrates), heavy hydrocarbons (2-phase flow or wax deposition in pipelines), and contaminants such as carbon dioxide (corrosion) and hydrogen sulphide (corrosion, toxicity). In the case of associated gas, if there is no gas market, gas may have to be flared or re-injected. If significant volumes of associated gas are available it may be worthwhile to extract natural gas liquids (NGLs) before flaring or reinjection. Gas may also have to be treated for gas lifting or for use as a fuel. 

For example,copper has relatively good corrosion resistance under non-oxidizing conditions. It can be alloyed with zinc to yield a stronger material (brass), but with lowered corrosion resistance. Flowever, by alloying copper with a passivating metal such as nickel, both mechanical and corrosion properties are improved. Another important alloy is steel, which is an alloy between iron (>50%) and other alloying elements such as carbon. 

Fluorine is the most electronegative and reactive of all elements. It is a pale yellow, corrosive gas, which reacts with most organic and inorganic substances. Finely divided metals, glass, ceramics, carbon, and even water burn in fluorine with a bright flame. 

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. 

Because PTFE resins decompose slowly, they may be heated to a high temperature. The toxicity of the pyrolysis products warrants care where exposure of personnel is likely to occur (120). Above 230°C decomposition rates become measurable (0.0001% per hour). Small amounts of toxic perfiuoroisobutylene have been isolated at 400°C and above free fluorine has never been found. Above 690°C the decomposition products bum but do not support combustion if the heat is removed. Combustion products consist primarily of carbon dioxide, carbon tetrafluoride, and small quantities of toxic and corrosive hydrogen fluoride. The PTFE resins are nonflammable and do not propagate flame. 

In aqueous solution, malic acid can be mildly corrosive toward aluminum and corrosive to carbon steel. Under normal conditions, it is not corrosive to stainless steels, which usually are the constmetion materials for processes involving malic acid. Malic acid is also virtually noncorrosive to tinplate and other materials used to package acidulated foods and beverages (Table 3) (27). 

The furnace is constmcted with a steel shell lined with high temperature refractory (see Refractories). Refractory type and thickness are deterrnined by the particular need. Where combustion products include corrosive gases such as sulfur dioxide or hydrogen chloride, furnace shell temperatures are maintained above about 150—180°C to prevent condensation and corrosion on the inside carbon steel surfaces. Where corrosive gases are not present, insulation is sized to maintain a shell temperature below 60°C to protect personnel. 

Lead is one of the most stable of fabricated materials because of excellent corrosion resistance to air, water, and soil. An initial reaction with these elements results in the formation of protective coatings of insoluble lead compounds. For example, in the presence of oxygen, water attacks lead, but if the water contains carbonates and siUcates, protective films or tarnishes form and the corrosion becomes exceedingly slow. 

Wettabihty is defined as the tendency of one fluid to spread on or adhere to a soHd surface (rock) in the presence of other immiscible fluids (5). As many as 50% of all sandstone reservoirs and 80% of all carbonate reservoirs are oil-wet (10). Strongly water-wet reservoirs are quite rare (11). Rock wettabihty can affect fluid injection rates, flow patterns of fluids within the reservoir, and oil displacement efficiency (11). Rock wettabihty can strongly affect its relative permeabihty to water and oil (5,12). When rock is water-wet, water occupies most of the small flow channels and is in contact with most of the rock surfaces as a film. Cmde oil does the same in oil-wet rock. Alteration of rock wettabihty by adsorption of polar materials, such as surfactants and corrosion inhibitors, or by the deposition of polar cmde oil components (13), can strongly alter the behavior of the rock (12). 

Alkyl or aryl phosphonates, which contain a carbon—phosphoms bond, are comparatively more stable. They are of interest as antiscaling additives and corrosion inhibitors for cooling towers and heat exchangers (see Dispersants Water, industrial water treatment), surfactants (qv), sequestrants, and textile-treating agents. Trialkyl phosphites are usehil as esterification (qv) reagents. 

Al—Mg—Mn. The basis for the alloys used as bodies, ends, and tabs of the cans used for beer and carbonated beverages is the Al—Mg—Mn alloy system. It is also used in other appHcations that exploit the excellent weldabiUty and corrosion resistance. These alloys have the unique abiUty to be highly strain hardened yet retain a high degree of ductOity. Some of the manganese combines with the iron to form AF(Fe,Mn) or constituent... 

Cyclohexylamine is miscible with water, with which it forms an azeotrope (55.8% H2O) at 96.4°C, making it especially suitable for low pressure steam systems in which it acts as a protective film-former in addition to being a neutralizing amine. Nearly two-thirds of 1989 U.S. production of 5000 —6000 t/yr cyclohexylamine serviced this appHcation (69). Carbon dioxide corrosion is inhibited by deposition of nonwettable film on metal (70). In high pressure systems CHA is chemically more stable than morpholine [110-91-8] (71). A primary amine, CHA does not directiy generate nitrosamine upon nitrite exposure as does morpholine. CHA is used for corrosion inhibitor radiator alcohol solutions, also in paper- and metal-coating industries for moisture and oxidation protection. 

Replacing one carbon atom of naphthalene with an a2omethene linkage creates the isomeric heterocycles 1- and 2-a2anaphthalene. Better known by their trivial names quinoline [91-22-5] (1) and isoquinoline [119-65-3] (2), these compounds have been the subject of extensive investigation since their extraction from coal tar in the nineteenth century. The variety of studies cover fields as diverse as molecular orbital theory and corrosion prevention. There is also a vast patent Hterature. The best assurance of continuing interest is the frequency with which quinoline and isoquinoline stmctures occur in alkaloids (qv) and pharmaceuticals (qv), for example, quinine [130-95-0] and morphine [57-27-2] (see Alkaloids). 

Feedwater treatment is designed to protect the feedwater system and, to some extent, the boiler. Most systems contain carbon steel piping. Carbon steel corrosion (Fig. 23a) is considerably slower at a pH between 9.0 and 11.0. In aH-ferrous feedwater systems, the preferred pH range is therefore 9.2 to 9.6, although some systems are operated at a pH as high as 10. In systems where copper alloys are present, high concentrations of ammonia accelerate corrosion of the copper alloys. In those systems the preferred pH is 8.8—9.2. 

The durabihty and versatility of steel are shown by its wide range of mechanical and physical properties. By the proper choice of carbon content and alloying elements, and by suitable heat treatment, steel can be made so soft and ductile that it can be cold-drawn into complex shapes such as automobile bodies. Conversely, steel can be made extremely hard for wear resistance, or tough enough to withstand enormous loads and shock without deforming or breaking. In addition, some steels are made to resist heat and corrosion by the atmosphere and by a wide variety of chemicals. 

Stainless Steels. Stainless steels are more resistant to msting and staining than plain carbon and low ahoy steels (47—50). This superior corrosion resistance results from the presence of chromium. Although other elements, such as copper, aluminum, shicon, nickel, and molybdenum, also increase corrosion resistance these are limited in their usefiilness. 

Precipita.tingInhibitors. As discussed earlier, the localized pH at the cathode of the corrosion cell is elevated due to the generation of hydroxide ions. Precipitating inhibitors form complexes that are insoluble at this high pH (1—2 pH units above bulk water), but whose deposition can be controlled at the bulk water pH (typically 7—9 pH). A good example is zinc, which can precipitate as hydroxide, carbonate, or phosphate. Calcium carbonate and calcium orthophosphate are also precipitating inhibitors. Orthophosphate thus exhibits a dual mechanism, acting as both an anodic passivator and a cathodic precipitator. 

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