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piping materials
These guidelines and referenced
codes and articles aid selection of
piping for most HPI processes
R.B. Setterlund, Metallurgical Consultants, Inc. Houston
SELECTION OF PIPING MATERIALS for refinery
and petrochemical plants requires collaboration between the
corrosion piping and process engineers, and usually involves
more than determining if a material is compatible with a given
environment. Many questions must be answered before a pipe
and valve specification can be written. Is the alloy available in
the size and thickness required? Is it the most economical
choice? Should it be specified as seamless or welded? Is it
suitable for the maximum anticipated operating temperature or
will long-term exposure to these temperatures cause its
mechanical properties to deteriorate? Will it require special
welding or heat treatment requirements?
It should be noted at the outset that the best approach
to corrosion control may not involve the use of corrosionresistant alloy materials. Often adequate life can be obtained
in corrosion services with carbon steel piping in conjunction
with control of process and operating variables. In other cases,
in particular those piping systems handling corrosive fluids at
elevated temperatures, there is no alternative to corrosion-resistant materials. Also, low or elevated temperature service
conditions can dictate the use of special materials.
General guidelines. Corrosion can be classified into three
general forms based on the type of damage that results. Some
types of damage can be tolerated, others cannot and it is
important to be aware of these distinctions. The three general
forms are: 1. uniform corrosion, 2. localized corrosion and 3.
stress corrosion cracking.
Uniform corrosion, in which metal is removed more
or less uniformly, is the most common form of corrosion and
the least dangerous. It is generally agreed that the maximum
acceptable loss of metal due to uniform corrosion is
approximately 20 mils per year (mpy).1 This rate of corrosion
is not usually desirable since high corrosion rates not only
reduce the thickness of piping but also can lead to plugging of
heat exchanger bundles and reactor screens by corrosion
deposits. Iron sulfide scale occupies a volume about seven
times the volume of metal that is removed, thus a ten in. pipe
corroding at 20 mpy would produce about three cubic feet of
loose scale per year per 100 feet of length.
Except where equipment becomes plugged,
contamination of process streams by corrosion products is not
usually as serious a problem in hydrocarbon processing plants
as in most chemical plants. One exception is equipment lube
and seal oil lines which must be kept absolutely free from
Environment
Caustic solutions at
Temperatures over 120F
To over 108F depending
On concentration1
Control of hardness or
selection of more
resistant alloys2
(Control of materials)
Austenitic stainless
steels with
susceptibility decreasing
with the more highly
alloyed grades4
Flushing, neutralizing,
avoidance of crevices,
coating
Chloride solution at
temperatures over 110F
to 180F depending on
chloride concentration
and alloy susceptibility
(Control of environment)
C C
21% to 25%
6.5% to 11%
0.15% to 0.20%
5% to 15%