Crude unit overhead corrosion has been a problem for most refineries worldwide. A number of different corrosion mechanisms can result in damage to the crude unit overhead. These mechanisms include low pH corrosion, under deposit corrosion due to salt formation in the overhead, and velocity accelerated corrosion. Hydrogen permeation has been successfully used to monitor crude unit overhead corrosion. A correlation was developed to calculate the corrosion rate based on the hydrogen monitoring technique readings. This paper will discuss the usefulness of the hydrogen permeation correlation in different crude unit overhead troubleshooting scenarios. The correlation corrosion rate showed very good agreement with corrosion rates calculated from ultrasonic thickness measurement (UT) data. In addition, a case history of using the hydrogen permeation monitoring technique to map salt formation areas in one overhead line is discussed.

Subject
Water, Hydrogen permeation, Piping, Correlation, Salts, Corrosion rate, Hydrogen flux, Vapors, Amines, Crude units, Corrosion mechanisms, Chemical reactions, Hydrogen
Keywords:
Crude Unit Overhead Corrosion, Hydrogen permeation, amine chloride
© 2008 Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP). All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of AMPP. Positions and opinions advanced in this work are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of AMPP. Responsibility for the content of the work lies solely with the author(s).
2008
Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP)
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