Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Definition
Inhibitor Efficiency
CRuninhib - CRinhib
E = x 100%
CRuninhib
E efficiency (%)
- a useful concept for the laboratory testing of inhibitors; but inhibitor availability
(see later) is a more relevant concept for corrosion management.
Approaches to Inhibition
inhibition
negative positive
NEGATIVE INHIBITION
o oxygen scavenging:
2 (NH4)2SO3 + O2 (NH4)2SO4
R R
N N
N N N S
CH2 R CH2 R
Triazine Thiadiazine
(liquid) (liquid)
POSITIVE INHIBITION
Anodic Inhibitors
Cathodic Inhibitors
Neither cathodic nor anodic inhibitors are much used in hydrocarbon production
Mixed Inhibitors
Schematic representation
hydrophilic hydrophobic
Operation:
inhibitor film
water (displaced)
metal surface
Characteristics
Primary amine
R CH2 NH2
Amide
R1 CH2 C NH R2
Polyethoxylated amines
(O CH2 CH2 )n OH
R N
(O CH2 CH2 )n OH
CH3
+
N CH2 R
CH3
Imidazoline
Phosphate Ester
N
O N
R CH2 CH2 CH2 NH2
O P OH
R1
O
R2
Inhibitor Blends
Note: when an inhibitor supplier refers to a dose rate (e.g. 50 ppm) they are referring
to the dosing of the product blend. (The active component may be as little as
5 ppm).
Combining Inhibitors
synergistic
Inhibitor efficiency
e
additiv
antagonistic
0% inhibitor A 100%
100% inhibitor B 0%
Semi- squeeze
Continuous annulus
displacement
corrosion products
yes yes no
acceptable ?
exposure duration < 1 month 1 -24 months <24 months
biocide no yes yes
oxygen scavenger no no no
INHIBITOR SELECTION
Inhibitor suppliers do not disclose formulation details. Even if they did, the
information would be of little value because there is insufficient knowledge to
translate known inhibitor chemistries into anticorrosion performance predictions in
complex hydrocarbon systems.
Oil and gas company corrosion engineers are therefore concerned with managing
the activities of their chemical supply and service companies.
Inhibitor Supplier
Field Tests
(optional stage)
carried out on water stream from water separator
limited scope and duration
electrochemical measurements
o rapid response
o comparison of short-listed inhibitors.
Note: The selection of an inhibitor (and dose rate) is not a once-and-for-all process.
INHIBITOR AVAILABILITY
The model is used in predicting the average corrosion rate in an inhibited system:
Where: CRa, CR,i, & CRu are the average, inhibited and uninhibited
corrosion rates.
Example:
The aggregate life-time corrosion (CRa x Design Life) is calculated and compared to
the corrosion allowance.
INHIBITOR PERSISTENCY
This is a measure of the length of time the inhibitor remains effective. It is the time
taken for an inhibitor film to desorb from the metal surface under a given set of flow
conditions. It is a consideration when timing batch treatments.
EFC Publication No. 39 The Use of Corrosion Inhibitors in Oil and Gas Production
(ISBN 1-904350-33-X) 2004
Shell Approach
BP Approach
3 3 90% Medium
4 6 95% High
Target
o Over-ambition inhibitor availability requirements set at the design stage (in
order to permit CAPEX savings by selection carbon steel instead of
corrosion resistant alloys.
Design, Specification, Installation and Commissioning.
o Tendency for the chemical injection equipment is rarely a high priority
during the design stage of a project
o Equipment invariable selected on the basis of price
o Installation and commissioning can be over-looked in the rush to bring
production on-stream. There is more immediate incentive to bring a
new well on-stream than to complete the installation and
commissioning of the inhibitor injection skid.
Maintenance.
o Corrosion inhibition is not usually classified as safety- or production-
critical. Where maintenance is trimmed for budgetary reasons the
chemical injection system (viewed as non-critical) tends to get over
looked.
o There are particular problems when injection equipment is in remote or
un-manned locations.
o Often on a fixed-when-broke maintenance regime: but how long
before we notice that it is broke?
Management and Training
o Lack of ownership of the inhibitor injection system.
o Lack of awareness of its importance.
Improved design
o Ensure that design team is aware of the detailed requirements for
injecting inhibitors (implies that the inhibitor is defined before project
start-up).
quills/nozzles appropriate to the fluids handled
high reliability of pumps (pumps need to be sized so that they
are controllable at the required pumping rates)
back-up pumps with automatic/rapid switch-over
security of power supplies (for electrical pumps, consider
hooking-up via the emergency supply panel)
tanks sized so as to hold sufficient chemical in case of suppliers
logistical problems
o Maintenance.
frequent/automatic monitoring
spares in stock
o Management
assign a senior manager as Process Owner
rolls and responsibilities defined,
make the corrosion inhibition system safety- or production-
critical
delivery performance measured and reviewed
effective (performance related) chemical supply contracts
o Education
The importance of corrosion and its control is not always fully
appreciated by operations staff. (Case History: a facility failed to
inject any inhibitor one month, so attempted to remedy the
problem by delivering double the dose the following month!)
Environmental Issues
Inhibitors added to a crude stream will eventually find their way into the
environment (for example with produced water discharged offshore).
Previously inhibitor suppliers issued product data. Since 2004, they have
been required to submit component data.
For permissible discharge to the environment each component of the inhibitor
blend must be demonstrated to be:
o low toxicity (EC50 >10 ppm)
o highly biodegradable (.60% in 28 days)
o low bioaccumulation potential (log Po/w <3 or MW >600)
Development of green inhibitors is a major challenge for the inhibitor
manufacturers
Management of inhibitor change over to environmentally acceptable products
is a significant issue for operators.