Corrosion rate and corrosion behaviour analysis of carbon steel pipe at constant condensed fluid

Abstract

This study investigates the corrosion rate and corrosion behavior of carbon steel pipe at constant condensed fluid from a geothermal power plant. The corrosion rate of the steel was determined by weight loss analysis, whereas the corrosivity of the condensate fluids was measured by a multimeter Hach HQ40d. The morphology of the corrosion products formed was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS), and x-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. Results showed that the corrosion rate in the liquid part of the condensate fluids is constant during the immersion period when water quality parameters are constant. Meanwhile, the corrosion rate of low carbon steel pipe decreases though with the longer exposure period in the condensate fluid. The decrease of metal corrodibility identical to the lower corrosion rate at a longer exposure time due to the protective corrosion layer formed. The corrosion products during immersion tests identified in the corrosion test were uniform with iron oxide in the form of FeO(OH) and Fe2O3*H2O.