Comparative Resistance of Certain Commercial Ferrous Materials to Corrosion by Gaseous Hydrogen Sulfide

Abstract

A corrosion-testing apparatus which operates in the field and which willdetermine the comparative resistance of various ferrous materials to corrosionby gaseous hydrogen sulfide at ordinary temperatures is described. Theprinciple of the uniform method of testing is to allow natural gas containinghydrogen sulfide, direct from its source in the field, to flow over the groupof specimens for a given period of time, and subsequently to estimate thecorrosion sustained by each specimen by determining its loss in weight. Thecomparative results obtained when specimens of 47 representative ferrousmaterials of described typical composition were tested at ordinary temperatureswith natural gas containing hydrogen sulfide are given in tables showingaverage penetration of metal, inches per year. The primary purpose of the work was to determine the possible utility to thepetroleum and natural gas industries of ferrous materials that are commerciallyavailable, and no attempt is made to discuss the results of the tests from themetallurgical standpoint. The following is a summary of the resultsobtained:Steels containing 12 to 27 per cent of chromium showed the highestresistance to corrosion. The presence of nickel in these high-chromium steelsdid not affect their resistance.Steels containing approximately 5 per cent of chromium showed comparativelyhigh resistance, but somewhat less than that of the highchromium steels.