Comparison of Erosion Resistance of Iron Carbonate Protective Layer with Calcium Carbonate Particles Versus Sand

Abstract

In oil and gas production, solid particles can be entrained in the produced fluid. While sand is widely considered as the most common source of solid particles, calcium carbonate particles can also be entrained in the flow, especially in carbonate formations. These entrained solid particlescan erode steel pipe surfaces and protective corrosion products, such as iron carbonate (FeCO3) scale that forms on the steel surface as a result ofthe CO2 corrosion process. The removal of protective layers can lead to high corrosion rates. Extensive research has previously been conducted to study the effect of sand erosion on removing protective iron carbonate scales. However, little is known about the erosion resistance of iron carbonate scale for calcium carbonate particles. The goal of the research presented in this paper is to study the erosion resistance of iron carbonate scale when eroded by calcium carbonate particles, and compare this erosion behavior with scale eroded by sand. Additionally, this research reports data and modeling that describe under what conditions removal of iron carbonate scale and the resulting erosion-corrosion are anticipated by solid particles such as sand or calcium carbonate. Results, for the conditions considered in this study, show that CaCO3 particles can cause considerable damage to iron carbonate scale leading to severe corrosion. For these conditions, sand was found to be more erosive than CaCO3 particles. Results from the erosion model developed in this study showed good agreement with current and previous experimental data.

Augmentation of Polymer-FeCO3 Microlayers on Carbon Steel for Enhanced Corrosion Protection in Hydrodynamic CO2 Corrosion Environments

“…Similar to the static environment, the PAH polymer in the hydrodynamic environment is adsorbed not only onto the FeCO 3 crystals but also on the bare steel surface, filling the gaps between the crystals (Figure b2). Various studies have established that the presence of heterogeneity or discontinuity among the corrosion products induces pitting and galvanic corrosion limiting the corrosion product exploitation as a mitigation approach. − Nonetheless, images in Figure b show the uniform coverage of the PAH polymer on the steel surface. This implies that the PAH reduces the heterogeneity or discontinuity within the FeCO 3 crystal layer via interconnection of such crystals, producing a hybrid layer, which can more readily be exploited for enhanced corrosion protection.…”

“…However, their protective capability is limited by local heterogeneity or discontinuities in the layer, which can lead to localized corrosion. Additionally, these corrosion products can be removed by mechanical forces (e.g., sand particle impingement) and chemical dissolution. − …”

Effects of pre-filmed FeCO3 on flow-induced corrosion and erosion-corrosion in the absence and presence of corrosion inhibitor at 60 °C

“…The thickness of this FeCO3 layer can achieve orders of 10's or 100's μm and the protection under erosion-corrosion conditions will depend on the ability to outstand the erosive effect promoted by sand particle impingement [9]. Some researchers have investigated the interaction between corrosion products and inhibitors [7,9,19,20]. They identified that some properties of corrosion layers, such as thickness and intrinsic growth induced residual stress can be reduced when one inhibitor is introduced into the system.…”

Effect of Jet Impingement Velocity and Angle on CO2 Erosion–Corrosion with and without Sand for API 5L-X65 Carbon Steel

“…There is some published literature discussing the effect of impinging jets (mostly normal impingement angles) on the erosion-corrosion behavior of carbon steels in different environments [16,17]. It is worth mentioning though that the impingement angle and velocity are important experimental parameters in the study of erosion-corrosion, as they can significantly affect the deterioration of target material.…”