Contact corrosion pipes

Dissimilar-metal corrosion can occur even if the two metals are not initially in direct contact. For example, in homes where copper tubing is used for plumbing, there is always a small amount of dissolved Cu2+ in the water. When this water encounters steel piping or a chrome-plated bathroom sink drain, the more-noble copper will plate out on the other metal, producing a new metals-in-contact corrosion cell. In the case of chrome bathroom sink fittings, this leads to the formation of Cr3+ salts which precipitate as greenish stains. 

Galvanic corrosion is not considered to be of concern in the case of Pb-Sb alloys used in pumps and valves in electrical contact with pipes of Pb-Te alloys and chemical lead as well as in the context of use of caulking lead in cast iron pipe in seawater. 

Figure 13 shows by the example of the connection of a pipe made of unalloyed steel with a pipe made of high-alloyed steel, that the effects of contact corrosion decline as the distance from the seam of the two metals increases. In the immediate seam area the corrosion rate for the unalloyed steel is approx. 1.5 mm/a (59 mpy), which figure is reduced to the normal value of approx. 0.15 mm/a (5.9 mpy) at a distance of about 1 m. 

Contact corrosion can be avoided in composite pipelines made of unalloyed and high-alloyed steel by inserting isolation elements 2-2.5 m long (Figure 14). When made of high-alloyed steel are connected with pipes made of copper-nickel materials, isolation elements with a length equal to six times the pipe diameter are recommended [34]. 

In waste water installations, the components are loaded by the waste water on the inside (e.g. pipes) as well as on the outside (e.g. air-inlet pipes, scrapers). The functioning of metallic pipes is influenced by local attack (shallow pit and pitting corrosion). Uniform surface corrosion generally plays a secondary role. A site particularly susceptible to local corrosion is the area close to an electrically conducting contact of different metals (contact corrosion). 

Filters made of stainless steel of grade CrNil8-10 exhibited pitting corrosion due to contact corrosion with the activated carbon that is used for waste water treatment. Activated carbon is electrochemically more noble than steel. Suitable countermeasures include modification of the filter design and more frequent cleaning of the filters. The chemical composition of the steels for the outer and the itmer pipes are given in Table 19 [60]. 

LORUS is also used for inspection of piping that has been on supports or sleepers for some time, to see whether corrosion has developed at the contact points. But the technique can also be used for corrosion detection under insulation, inspection of pipelines at dike and road crossings, nozzle reinforcement pads or craek detection in suspension systems for railway cars. 

AH columns, distributors, and ancHlary hardware such as piping, valves, and pumps must be constmcted of corrosion-resistant materials, or coated with an appropriate substance. AH streams that contact the hardware during each step of the cycHc operation need to be considered in this selection. 

Magnetic flow meters are sometimes utilized in corrosive Hquid streams or slurries where a low unrecoverable pressure drop and high rangeabiHty is required. The fluid is required to be electrically conductive. Magnetic flow meters, which use Faraday s law to measure the velocity of the electrically conductive Hquid, are relatively expensive. Their use is therefore reserved for special situations where less expensive meters are not appropriate. Installation recommendations usually specify an upstream straight mn of five pipe diameters, keeping the electrodes in continuous contact with the Hquid. 

The hydrocarbon gas feedstock and Hquid sulfur are separately preheated in an externally fired tubular heater. When the gas reaches 480—650°C, it joins the vaporized sulfur. A special venturi nozzle can be used for mixing the two streams (81). The mixed stream flows through a radiantly-heated pipe cod, where some reaction takes place, before entering an adiabatic catalytic reactor. In the adiabatic reactor, the reaction goes to over 90% completion at a temperature of 580—635°C and a pressure of approximately 250—500 kPa (2.5—5.0 atm). Heater tubes are constmcted from high alloy stainless steel and reportedly must be replaced every 2—3 years (79,82—84). Furnaces are generally fired with natural gas or refinery gas, and heat transfer to the tube coil occurs primarily by radiation with no direct contact of the flames on the tubes. Design of the furnace is critical to achieve uniform heat around the tubes to avoid rapid corrosion at "hot spots."... 

The manner in which many of these bacteria cany on their chemical processes is qmte comphcated and in some cases not fuUy understood. The role of sulfate-reducing bacteria (anaerobic) in promoting corrosion has been extensively investigated. The sulfates in shghtly acid to alkaline (pH 6 to 9) soils are reduced by these bacteria to form calcium sulfide and hydrogen sulfide. When these compounds come in contact with underground iron pipes, conversion of the iron to iron sulfide occurs. As these bacieria thrive under these conditions, they will continue to promote this reaction until failure of the pipe occurs. 

Examples of the sacrificial-anode method include the use of zinc, magnesium, or aluminum as anodes in electrical contact with the metal to be protected. These may be anodes buried in the ground for protection of underground pipe lines or attachments to the surfaces of equipment such as condenser water boxes or on ship hulls. The current required is generated in this method by corrosion of the sacrificial-anode material. In the case of the impressed emf, the direct current is provided by external sources and is passed through the system by use of essentially nonsacrificial anodes such as carbon, noncor-rodible alloys, or platinum buried in the ground or suspended in the electrolyte in the case of aqueous systems. 

Cathodic protection (CP) is an electrochemical technique of corrosion control in which the potential of a metal surface is moved in a cathodic direction to reduce the thermodynamic tendency for corrosion. CP requires that the item to be protected be in contact with an electrolyte. Only those parts of the item that are electrically coupled to the anode and to which the CP current can flow are protected. Thus, the inside of a buried pipe is not capable of cathodic protection unless a suitable anode is placed inside the pipe. The electrolyte through which the CP current flows is usually seawater or soil. Fresh waters generally have inadequate conductivity (but the interiors of galvanized hot water tanks are sometimes protected by a sacrificial magnesium anode) and the conductivity... 

Sentinel holes are used as a simple form of thickness testing. A small hole of about I - 6 mm diameter is drilled from the outer wall of the piece of equipment to within a distance from the inner wall (in contact with the corrodent) equal to the corrosion allowance on the equipment (Fig. 9.11). The technique has been used even in cases where the corrodent spontaneously ignites on contact with the atmosphere. The philosophy is that it is better to have a little fire than a big one which would follow a major leak from corrosion through the wall. When the sentinel hole begins to weep fluid a tapered plug is hammered into the hole and remedial maintenance planned. Siting the sentinel holes is somewhat speculative although erosion at the outside of a pipe bend is often monitored in this way. 

Little information is available on the performance of copper and of copper alloys in contact with concrete, but concrete sometimes contains ammonia, even traces of which will induce stress-corrosion cracking of copper pipe. The ammonia may be derived from nitrogenous foaming agents used for producing lightweight insulating concrete. 

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