13th International Conference on Fracture June 16–21, 2013, Beijing, China Developing New Innovative Descaling and Corrosion Inhibiting Solutions to Protect Steel Equipment in the Oil and Gas Industry Abdulghani A. Jaralla1, Muhannad M. Al-Darbi2,* 1 GLS Limited, 31 Malabar Crescent, Broomfield, Christchurch, New Zealand 2 Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of British Columbia 2360 East Mall, Vancouver, B.C. V6T 1Z3, Canada * Corresponding author: aldarbi@interchange.ubc.ca Abstract Previous studies have shown that corrosion is very costly and has a major impact on the economies of industrial nations. It is estimated that the annual cost of corrosion worldwide is over 3% of the world's GDP. In the oil and gas industry alone, corrosion costs billions of dollars a year. For that, corrosion control and mitigation technologies are of great importance. It is also our duty to protect the environment, preserve resources, and protect our fellow human beings. Descaling and corrosion inhibiting methods are widely used in many industries, like in the oil and gas industry. It is very important for any industry to clean the fire tube boilers, heat exchangers, and before commissioning to clean the pipes. For the oil and gas industry, in particular, it is extremely important to acidize the wells while keeping the downhole pipe safe. In this study, a new highly effective industrial cleaning solution which is effective in descaling without causing corrosion was found which comprises a mixture of hydrochloric acid, hydrofluoric acid, one or more chelating agents, a surfactant, a copper complexing agent, and a nontoxic acridine orange inhibitor, which serves to block the anodic and cathodic sites on the steel surfaces of the process equipment. Keywords Corrosion, Descaling Solution, Oil and Gas Industry, Inhibiting Solution, Steel 1. Background Corrosion has a huge economic and environmental impact on virtually all facets of the world’s infrastructure, from highways, bridges, and buildings to oil and gas, chemical processing, and water and wastewater systems [1]. Equipment used in power plants, chemical and petrochemical plants, paper mills, sugar mills, pipelines, air conditioners in large buildings, and many other industrial environments are subject to the formation of scale, either by circulating water or by process compounds. This includes all types of heat exchangers, boilers, vessels, piping and other equipment [2]. Precipitated solids reduce the heat transfer efficiency and oftentimes cause tube failure due to overheating which may result in plugging or fouling of the equipment [3]. To prevent interference with industrial processes, cleaning of the metal surfaces of the equipment employed therein is required. The water-formed precipitates are generally inorganic in nature, especially precipitates formed in hot closed systems, for example, in steam generators or heat exchangers [4]. Common deposits which are found
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