13/11/2020

Corrosion control in heat exchangers

Corrosion control in heat exchangers

Corrosion control
improve optimize
operational resource
efficiency management

During operations During operations

• Secure production • Optimize water resource
continuity & plant • Reduce discharge to the
flexibility environment in
• Reduce costs / improve compliance with
plant efficiency regulation
• Safety

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Waterside corrosion

Cooling water Boiler water /

steam cycle
Uniform corrosion Acid corrosion
Pitting Under deposit corrosion
Galvanic corrosion -) caustic
Dealloying -) acid phosphate
MIC -) hydrogen
Under deposit corrosion embrittlement
Erosion Oxygen corrosion
Cavitation Flow Assisted Corrosion
… Fatigue
iService …

Cooling water

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Cooling system types

Cooling system types

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Cooling system types

Heat Transfer: equipment

• Cooling tower
• Heat exchangers
• Condensers
• Chillers

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Cooling tower designs

Mechanical draft – natural draft

Counter flow – cross flow

Open recirculating cooling systems

Make-up water quality

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Key attention points

It is all about
controlling the cooling
water triangle!

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Recirculating cooling systems

CORROSION problems
Uniform corrosion Pitting

MIC Dealloying

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Recirculating cooling systems

CORROSION problems
Galvanic corrosion SCC

Crevice corrosion & UDC Erosion & cavitation

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Recirculating cooling systems

DEPOSITION / FOULING problems
Solubility hardness salts (CaCO3,
CaSO4, Ca3(PO4)2, ...) is inversed
proportional with the temperature

Fouling by SS, Fe, ...

 Inhibition by crystal modification,

dispersion, sequestration

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Recirculating cooling systems

MICROBIOLOGICAL problems
• Oxidizing biocides

• Non-oxidizing biocides

• Strict reglementation: product approvals

necessary

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Corrosion inhibition
• Design and fabrications considerations

• Metallurgy

• Protective coatings

• Sacrificial anodes / Cathodic protection

• Chemical Treatment

- pH adjustment
16 - Corrosion Inhibitors

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Corrosion inhibition – corrosion inhibitors

Passivating (anodic) Precipitating (cathodic) Adsorption
Silicate
Azole

Engineered film
Suez E.C.O.Film

3 Fe0 + 2 O2  ɣFe2O3 / Fe3O4 3 Ca2+ + 2 oPO43-  Ca3(PO4)2

Ca2+ + pPO4  Ca pPO4
Ortho phosphate Ca2+ + CO32-  CaCO3
Nitrite Zn + OH  Zn(OH)2
Molybdate Ortho- & polyphosphate / phosphonate /
17 Zinc / CaCO3

Preventing scale / fouling

Mechanical

Removal Process Adjust

Softening Increase Velocity

Clarification Increase B.D.

Filtration Design of Equip

Side Stream Reduce Temp

Cleaning pH Adjustment

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Preventing scale / fouling

Chemical

Inhibitor Dispersion

Threshold Synthetic
Polymers
Sequestration Natural
Polymers

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Treating open recirculating cooling systems

deposition
corrosion

7.0 cooling water pH 9.0

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Neutral pH - Phosphate

3 Fe0 + 2 O2  ɣFe2O3 / Fe3O4

A [oPO4]
8 to 20 mg/l Ortho-Phosphate
Calcium Phosphate Inhibitor (polymer)
3 Ca2+ + 2 oPO43-  Ca3(PO4)2
C Ca2+ + pPO4  Ca pPO4

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Alkaline pH - Phosphate

3 Fe0 + 2 O2  ɣFe2O3 / Fe3O4

A [oPO4]
2 to 10 mg/l Ortho-Phosphate
Calcium Carbonate Inhibitor
(Non P or phosphonate) 3 Ca2+ + 2 oPO43-  Ca3(PO4)2
C Ca2+ + CO32-  CaCO3
Calcium Phosphate Inhibitor (polymer)

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Monitoring and control

• Corrosion coupons / Corrator • Test heat exchanger
1 mpy = 0,0254 mm/y

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Monitoring and control

• Microbiology • Program actives (TrueSense)
oPO4, delta PO4, STP and free chlorine
pH, conductivity, ORP

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InSight

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InSight

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Boiler water – steam cycle

Steam as energy carrier: heat and power

Consumed/lost
12500 Kg/hr

10 barg
42 barg Turbine Process
20000 Kg/hr
50000 Kg/hr

Make-up Water Deaerator 5 barg flash

Boiler
12500 Kg/hr

Process
A
Process Flash
B Tank

Cond
Tank
37500 Kg/hr

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Types of boilers
Fire tube

Water tube

Waste heat

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Key attention points

Avoid deposition

Corrosion control

Steam purity

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Make-up water for boilers

Acid

Caustic

Pretreatment Cation IX Anion IX IX Mixed Bed

Caustic Acid

Clarifier + Filter
IX Mixed Bed
Pretreatment
RO

Ultra Filtration
Pretreatment
RO
31 EDI

Acid and caustic corrosion

Safe zone

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Acid corrosion (carbonic acid) Caustic corrosion

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Boiler standards and guidelines

Standards:

- EN12952 part 12 (watertube)

- EN12953 part 10 (firetube)

- (Apave, BS2486, NBN I 01-003,....)

Guidelines:

- VGB

- ASME

- EPRI, IAPWS
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- .....

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Acid corrosion control

-) caustic (!!)

-) trisodium phosphate

Na3PO4 + H2O Na2HPO4 + NaOH

-) neutralising amines

Cyclohexylamine, morpholine, monoethanolamine,....

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Caustic gouging control

-) deposition control

-) feedwater quality

-) polymers

-) blowdown regime

-) controlled pH

-) pH/PO4 coordination

-) acid phosphate corrosion

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Caustic embrittlement control

OH- induced Stress Corrosion Cracking
Of C-steel
-) stress relief

-) avoid concentration zones

-) water quality

-) pH/PO4 coordination

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Oxygen corrosion control

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Oxygen corrosion control

Mechanical/Thermal -) temperature to saturation point
• deaeration -) scrubbing
-) venting

Chemical
• Oxygen scavengers
• Sulfite: softened, RO single pass
• DEHA: RO double pass, demin
• Ascorbic acid
• Carbohydrazide: MB, EDI

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Flow Accelerated Corrosion - FAC

The continuous dissolution of the protective oxide film on the
metal surface in a fast flowing liquid.

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Factors impacting FAC

Temperature
Flow velocity FAC peaks between 100 to 150 °C

Flow Accelerated Corrosion

Water chemistry / pH Metallurgy Geometry

FAC decreases as pH increases Cr content of steel
FAC inhibited by oxygen

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InSight

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