Hydrogen corrosion

Hoyt, W. B., and Caughey, R. H., High Temperature Metal Deterioration in Atmospheres Containing Carbon Monoxide and Hydrogen, Corrosion, 15 (12) 627t-30t (1959). 

Sources Oxygen Water, kg/year Hydrogen Corrosion products from reactor, kg/year Tritium from the core, g/hour... 

The shift of the open-circuit potential from the equilibrium potential of the metal under given conditions cannot also be accounted for by the simple hydrogen corrosion theory (the Wagner-Traud mechanism). 

Virtually any metal or alloy is subjected to the hydrogen attack. However, high strength steels and special alloys are the most susceptible to hydrogen corrosion. Besides heat treatment sensitization to corrosion, see Sect. 14.2, it is precisely hydrogen embrittlement the major mechanism of corrosion attack under static... 

Finally, there are some limits regarding LPG fuels butadiene content (0.5 wt. % maximum, ISO 7941), the absence of hydrogen sulfide (ISO 8819) and copper strip corrosion (class 1, ISO 6251) which are not usually problems for the refiner. 

Corrosion protection is indispensable, especially concerning certain vulnerable parts of the aircraft such as the combustion chamber and turbine. The potential hazards are linked to the presence of sulfur in various forms mercaptans, hydrogen sulfide, free sulfur, and sulfides. 

Hydrogen chloride released dissolves in water during condensation in the crude oil distillation column overhead or in the condenser, which cause corrosion of materials at these locations. The action of hydrochloric acid is favored and accelerated by the presence of hydrogen sulfide which results in the decomposition of sulfur-containing hydrocarbons this forces the refiner to inject a basic material like ammonia at the point where water condenses in the atmospheric distillation column. 

Corrosion service Carbon dioxide (CO2) or hydrogen sulphide (H2S) in formation tluids will cause rapid corrosion of standard carbon steel and special steel may be required... 

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. 

If produced gas contains water vapour it may have to be dried (dehydrated). Water condensation in the process facilities can lead to hydrate formation and may cause corrosion (pipelines are particularly vulnerable) in the presence of carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulphide. Hydrates are formed by physical bonding between water and the lighter components in natural gas. They can plug pipes and process equipment. Charts such as the one below are available to predict when hydrate formation may become a problem. 

The most common contaminants in produced gas are carbon dioxide (COj) and hydrogen sulphide (HjS). Both can combine with free water to cause corrosion and H2S is extremely toxic even in very small amounts (less than 0.01% volume can be fatal if inhaled). Because of the equipment required, extraction is performed onshore whenever possible, and providing gas is dehydrated, most pipeline corrosion problems can be avoided. However, if third party pipelines are used it may be necessary to perform some extraction on site prior to evacuation to meet pipeline owner specifications. Extraction of CO2 and H2S is normally performed by absorption in contact towers like those used for dehydration, though other solvents are used instead of glycol. 

The Institute has many-year experience of investigations and developments in the field of NDT. These are, mainly, developments which allowed creation of a series of eddy current flaw detectors for various applications. The Institute has traditionally studied the physico-mechanical properties of materials, their stressed-strained state, fracture mechanics and developed on this basis the procedures and instruments which measure the properties and predict the behaviour of materials. Quite important are also developments of technologies and equipment for control of thickness and adhesion of thin protective coatings on various bases, corrosion control of underground pipelines by indirect method, acoustic emission control of hydrogen and corrosion cracking in structural materials, etc. 

A process resulting in a decrease in touglmess or ductility of a metal due to absorjDtion of hydrogen. This atomic hydrogen can result, for instance, in the cathodic corrosion reaction or from cathodic protection. 

Gibala R and Hehemann R F (eds) 1984 Hydrogen Embrittlement and Stress Corrosion Craoking (Metals Park, OH American Soceity of Metals)... 

The last example presented in this section deals with the pitting corrosion of Fe in CIO solutions. Perchlorate is less known as an aggressive ion but reveals some unique and remarkable characteristics with regard to pitting corrosion. For example, the critical pitting potential (1.46 V against a standard hydrogen electrode (SHE) for Fe/1 M NaClO ) can be measured with an accuracy of less than 4 mV [61] which is very unexpected if compared to... 

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