Naphthenic acid (NAP) and reactive sulfur (RS) species present in crude oils pose serious corrosion problems in oil refineries, especially with the increase in processing of low-quality, opportunity crudes. This new simultaneous NAP, RS and mass transport corrosion model treats reactions in terms of formation/depletion of a solid barrier layer, and mass transport by turbulent acceleration due to velocity/viscosity effects on fluid boundary layers. This model includes additional reactions previously ignored by other crude models. The model utilizes generally available refinery operating parameters and fluid analyses. The model yields dynamic results by calculating corrosion rates as the surface barrier layer and fluid boundary layers are changing in thickness over time. The model was developed based on open literature, and has been benchmarked against laboratory and refinery case studies. The new model provides more precise corrosion prediction to enable improved decisions regarding alloy upgrading, inspection, failure assessments, and crude economics.

Subject
Sulfur, Mechanistic models, Naphthenic acid, Barrier layers, Corrosion rate, Oils, Metal surfaces, Wall shear stress, Corrosion reactions, Refineries, Corrosion modeling, Fluids, Crude
Keywords:
Corrosion rate, Corrosion science and technology, Naphthenic acid, Sulfur, Simulation and modeling
© 2021 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).
2021
Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP)
You do not currently have access to this content.