Corrosion Study of AISI 304, AISI 321 and AISI 430 Stainless Steels in a Tar Sand Digester
- 1 Department of Materials Science and Engineering,Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. Nigeria
- 2 Department of Materials Science and Engineering,Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. Nigeria
- 3 Department of Chemical Engineering,Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. Nigeria
Abstract
This work has investigated the corrosion properties of three types of stainless steels in a tar sand digester environment with the aim of establishing their relative resistances in the environment. The corrosion experiments for the stainless steels were conducted by the non-electrochemical immersion technique with corrosion rates expressed in mils per year (mpy). The spectroscopy analysis of the Nigerian tar sand was done by the energy dispersive x-ray analysis. The surface study of the corroded stainless steels was accomplished via a scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to reveal the form of corrosion. The results of the corrosion experiments show that all the stainless steels have a relatively low corrosion rates (<5mpy). The SEM analyses of their corroded surfaces however revealed great tendency in them to exhibit crevice and pitting corrosions. On the basis of resistance to the two forms of corrosion the AISI 321 stainless steel exhibited the best resistance in the environment.
- Collins, A.G. (1975) Geochemistry of the oil field waters, Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company, New York, pp194.
- Fontana, C.M. and Greene, N.D. (1983) Corrosion Engineering, 2 nd edition, McGraw-Hill International Book Company
- Koser, H.J.K. (1980) corrosion of metals in carbon tetrachloride containing solvent, Analyst pp123
- Miller, J.D. and Misra, M. (1982) Hot water process development for Utah tar sands, Fuel Processing Technology, Vol.6, pp 27-59.
- Oluwole, A.F., Kehinde,L.O. and Adeogoke, A.A. (1980) Chemical composition of tar sand, Journal of Centre for Energy Research and Development, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife and Alberta. Canada.
- Peter, D.C., James, B.H. and David, T.J. (1984) Some chemistry of organosulphur compound types occurring in heavy oil sands. High temperature hydrolysis and thermolysis of tetrahydrothiopene in relation to steam stimulation process, Fuels, Vol. 62 pp959-962.
- Sepulveda, J.F. and Miller, J.D. (1978) Extraction of bitumen from Utah tar sands by hot water digestion flotation technique, mining Engineering Vol.30 No. 9 pp1311.
- Ukwuoma, O. and Ademodi, B. (1999) The study of composition of Nigerian tar sand bitumen, Petroleum Science and Technology, Vol. 17, (1-20), pp 57-65.
- Umoru, L.E. (2001) A study of corrosion of materials in a tar sand digester, Ph.D. Thesis, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. Nigeria.