Pipelines, corrosion protection

The end product specification of a process may be defined by a customer (e.g. gas quality), by transport requirements (e.g. pipeline corrosion protection), or by storage considerations (e.g. pour point). Product specifications normally do not change, and one may be expected to deliver within narrow tolerances, though specification can be subject to negotiation with the customer, for example In gas contracts. 

Produced water has to be separated from oil for two main reasons, firstly because the customer is buying oil not water, and secondly to minimise costs associated with evacuation (e.g., volume pumped, corrosion protection for pipelines). A water content of less than 0.5% is a typical specification for sales crude. 

The developed method is used in eddy current defectoscopes like Zond VD used for detecting corrosion spots in the body of the plane through aluminium cover, cracks detecting in helicopter blades under dielectric covers up to 8-10 mm thick, in pipelines under protective covers up to 10 mm thick, etc... 

The active and passive electrochemical processes on which present-day corrosion protection is based were already known in the 19th century, but reliable protection for pipelines only developed at the turn of the 20th century. 

Cement coatings are usually applied as linings for water pipes and water tanks, but occasionally also for external protection of pipelines [7]. Cement is not impervious to water, so electrochemical reactions can take place on the surface of the object to be protected. Because of the similar processes occurring at the interface of cement and object and reinforcing steel and concrete, data on the system iron/ cement mortar are dealt with in this chapter taking into account the action of electrolytes with and without electrochemical polarization. To ensure corrosion protection, certain requirements must be met (see Section 5.3 and Chapter 19). 

With buried pipelines, the degree of corrosion danger from cell formation and the effectiveness of cathodic protection can be determined by pipe/soil potential measurements along the pipeline (see Sections 3.6.2 and 3.7). This is not possible with well casings since the only point available for a measuring point is at the well head. Therefore, other methods are required to identify any corrosion risk or the effectiveness of corrosion protection. 

The use of corrosion-resistant materials and the application of corrosion protection measures are in many cases the reason that industrial plants and structures can be built at all. This is particularly so in pipeline technology. Without cathodic protection and without suitable coating as a precondition for the efficiency of cathodic protection, long-distance transport of oil and gas under high pressures would not be possible. Furthermore, anodic protection was the only protective measure to make possible the safe operation of alkali solution evaporators (see Section 21.5). 

Parker, M. E., Pipeline Corrosion and Cathodic Protection, Gulf Publishing Co., Houston, Texas... 

Technical Committee Reports of the National Association of Corrosion Engineers, USA, on pipeline corrosion control, including Statement on Minimum Requirements for Protection of Buried Pipelines , Some Observations on Cathodic Protection Criteria , Criteria for Adequate Cathodic Protection of Coated Buried Submerged Steel Pipelines and Similar Steel , Methods of Measuring Leakage Conductance of Coatings on Buried or Submerged Pipelines , Recommended Practice for Cathodic Protection of Aluminium Pipe Buried in Soil or Immersed in Water ... 

Coatings, cathodic protection, and chemical additives are used extensively to prevent internal and external pipeline corrosion. The excessive use of incompatible chemical additives has caused severe problems in gas-transporting systems. Costs arising from these problems often exceed the costs of the chemicals themselves. The careful evaluation and selection of chemical additives can minimize these problems and reduce operating costs [I860]. 

Inhibitors may be classified according to their solution properties as either oil-soluble inhibitors, water-soluble inhibitors, or dispersible inhibitors. Chemical inhibitors act as film formers to protect the surface of the pipeline. Corrosion inhibitors, used for the protection of oil pipelines, are often complex mixtures. The majority of inhibitors used in oil production systems are nitrogenous and have been classified into the broad groupings given in Table 11-4. Typical corrosion inhibitors are shown in Table 11-5. For details, see also Chapter 6. 

Oilfields in the North Sea provide some of the harshest environments for polymers, coupled with a requirement for reliability. Many environmental tests have therefore been performed to demonstrate the fitness-for-purpose of the materials and the products before they are put into service. Of recent examples [33-35], a complete test rig has been set up to test 250-300 mm diameter pipes, made of steel with a polypropylene jacket for thermal insulation and corrosion protection, with a design temperature of 140 °C, internal pressures of up to 50 MPa (500 bar) and a water depth of 350 m (external pressure 3.5 MPa or 35 bar). In the test rig the oil filled pipes are maintained at 140 °C in constantly renewed sea water at a pressure of 30 bar. Tests last for 3 years and after 2 years there have been no significant changes in melt flow index or mechanical properties. A separate programme was established for the selection of materials for the internal sheath of pipelines, whose purpose is to contain the oil and protect the main steel armour windings. Environmental ageing was performed first (immersion in oil, sea water and acid) and followed by mechanical tests as well as specialised tests (rapid gas decompression, methane permeability) related to the application. Creep was measured separately. 

Tubing with thicker walls, typically in the range of 0.080 to 0.170 in. (2 to 4 mm), is fabricated mainly from polyolefins and is used in to cover splices in telecom, CATV and electric-power industries. Often, such tubing is combined with mastic or hot melt that aids in forming an environmental barrier for the splice. Diameters of the heavy wall tubing may be up to 7 inches (178 mm) or even 12 to 24 inches (300 to 600 mm) when used as corrosion-protection sleeves on weld joints of gas and oil pipelines.92... 

Bomberger, D.R., "Hexavalent Chromium Reduces Corrosion in Coal-Water Slurry Pipeline. Materials Protection, Vol. 4, pp. 43-49, 1965. 

Andres B Peratta, John M W Baynham, and Robert A. Adey. A Computational Approach for Assessing Coating Performance in Cathodically Protected Transmission Pipelines. CORROSION 2009, Paper 6595 Atlanta, Georgia. NACE International 2009. 

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