Abstract
During initial days of alpha-SABLIN (LAO's) commercial plant operation, general corrosion was observed in the downstream separation columns. This was due to traces of catalyst not being completely neutralized thus forming acidic medium (mainly hydrochloric), resulting in the corrosion of the columns. In this respect the high temperature corrosion behavior of three important steel materials, namely carbon steel (CSA516) and ferritic (SS410) and austenitic (SS304L) stainless steels was studied by mass loss method at the process conditions and environment of the alpha-SABLIN (LAO's) commercial plant. Measurements were conducted at 270 degrees C and 29 bar as a function of immersion time (up to 30 days). Such measurements are complemented with X-ray diffraction (XRD), optical microscope (OM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The obtained findings revealed that the three tested steel samples corrode in the environment of the alpha-SABLIN (LAO's) commercial plant. The corrosion rate varies depending on the steel chemical composition, with SS304L being the most corrosion-resistant among the tested samples.