C3V10 Oberbroeckling Corrosion Erosion in Sulfur Recovery
C3V10 Oberbroeckling Corrosion Erosion in Sulfur Recovery
C3V10 Oberbroeckling Corrosion Erosion in Sulfur Recovery
lyondellbasell.com 2010 Sulfur Recovery Symposium, Vail Colorado September 13-17, 2010 1
Corrosion – Definition
(Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary)
• Cor·ro·sion \k㯆-Ɏr㮃-zh㯆n\
• noun
• 1 : the action, process, or effect of corroding
2 : a product of corroding
• Cor·rode \k㯆-Ɏr㮃d\
• Inflected Form(s): cor·rod·ed; cor·rod·ing
• transitive verb
• 1 : to eat away by degrees as if by gnawing; especially : to wear
away gradually usually by chemical action <the metal was
corroded beyond repair>
2 : to weaken or destroy gradually
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Erosion – Definition
(Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary)
• Ero·sion \i-Ɏr㮃-zh㯆n\
• noun
• 1 a : the action or process of eroding b : the state of being eroded
2 : an instance or product of erosion
• Erode \i-Ɏr㮃d\
• verb
• Inflected Form(s): erod·ed; erod·ing
• 1 : to diminish or destroy by degrees: a : to eat into or away by slow
destruction of substance (as by acid, infection, or cancer) b : to wear
away by the action of water, wind, or glacial ice <flooding eroded the
hillside> c : to cause to deteriorate or disappear as if by eating or
wearing away <inflation eroding buying power>
2 : to produce or form by eroding <glaciers erode U-shaped
valleys>intransitive verb
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Slide 1 of 3: No.1 Reheater was found to have significant metal loss at the
tubesheet and numerous tube to tubesheet leaks after cleaning. Suspected
failure mechanism is wet H2S attack that may have started with the tube
crack shown in the upper right, or a cracked weld at the tube sheet as shown
in the lower left. It is suspected that the cracks may have resulted from
excess thermal expansion resulting from out of step startup sequencing,
where the tubes were being heated up before steam was introduced to the
shell side.
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Slide 2 of 3: A few of the extracted tubes were found to have excessive deep
pitting on the inlet side, most likely due to under deposit corrosion where
sulfur impregnated into the metal matrix.
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Slide 3 of 3: One of the extracted tubes had through-wall leak at one of the
pits. Outer tube corrosion most likely occurred during the unit clearing after
the steam was shut off.
Initial Leak
Corresponding
Weld
Erosion
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This set of photos illustrates the erosive power of steam. This 550# Steam
Reheater on a Claus Unit started with a pin hole leak in the tube to
tubesheet weld. While leaking, the force of the steam near completely
washed out the bottom quarter of the tube/tubeshet weld just below the leak.
This illustrates what happens on high-pressure Thermal Reactor WHBs as
well. Once a leak starts, it is only a matter of time before a significant leak
presents itself, forcing a unit shutdown for repair.
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This is a wall coil inside a sulfur storage tank that developed a leak at the ~30 ft mark.
The acidity caused by the coil leak eventually resulted in a wall-plate failure at the ~25ft
mark. The wall surfaces at this level in the tank were not aluminized (only the top 15ft
and roof were aluminized. The tank was constructed and commissioned in late 1995. It
is not clear when the coil began leaking, however, the first signs of wall failure occurred in
early 1998. Resolution = 1) remove the wall coils – the Houston area climate and proper
insulation have deemed that the floor coils provide sufficient heat load; 2) aluminize the
wall surface all the way to the floor – aluminum is not susceptible to acid attack and
flame-spraying costs have become very economical.
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Severely corroded carbon steel sulfur look boxes showed signs of corrosion
after less than one year of operation. The look boxes were replaced with
316L stainless steel during the unit’s first turnaround and show no signs of
corrosion after nine years of service.
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The gun barrel and chamber of this steam ejector for a sulfur pit eductor
system fabricated of carbon steel illustrate the point that components in this
highly corrosive service must be fabricated of corrosion-resistant materials.
Note the gun tip that is fabricated with stainless steel showed no signs of
corrosion.
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These photos show significant roof damage on a sulfur tank that was
encountered during a turnaround. This tank prior to this shutdown did not
have aluminized coating on the walls and roof. Within its 27-year service, it
required major plate replacements every time it was taken out of service.
After full restoration for this outage, the walls and roof were flame sprayed
with aluminum to ~10 mils in thickness to prevent future corrosion.
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SWS Acid Gas feed control valve showing body corrosion/erosion on the
backside of the butterfly – note that the valve did not have any leak-by or
flow control problems because the seating surface had not yet been
damaged. This valve was in service for only five years.
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Slide 1 of 2: This is a 316L stainless steel rupture disk installed on the No. 1
Condenser Outlet of a Claus Unit with the discharge routed to a sulfur pit.
This is a view of the outlet side (pit side) of the rupture disk. Because of
piping issues, the rupture disk seat sits in a section of pipe that does not free
drain; pooled liquid accumulates and sits up against the rupture disk;
creating a wet H2S environment which attacked the stainless steel. The
metallurgy of the rupture disk has been upgraded to Hastelloy.
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Slide 2 of 2: Process side of the rupture disk was subject to sulfur pooling,
but it is believed that this had no cause in the premature failure.
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This is what is left from a top section (above the chimney tray) 316L Stainless
Steel tray in a Sour Water Stripper designed with an internal reflux system.
The top five trays all fabricated of 316L SS suffered 80% metal loss after nine
years of operation. Additionally, the tower vessel wall with 316L SS cladding
will require weld overlay repair during its next turnaround. Analysis of the
sour water did detect trace levels of chlorides. The internal reflux design
makes for a very wet acid gas environment in the top section of the tower,
which is corrosive even to stainless steel. Adding trace chlorides significantly
increases the difficulty of maintaining mechanical integrity of these trays and
this section of the tower. Ironically, the SWS did not suffer any stripping
performance problems even up to the last days of operation before this
turnaround occurred.
40.0
C orrosion R ate (mpy)
20.0
HSAS < 3 wt.%
15.0 HSAS < 4 wt.%
10.0
5.0
0.0
0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8
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Slide 1 of 2: This leak was experienced on a carbon steel kettle reboiler shell
for a TGU amine regenerator. The leak occurred just past the baffle plate
which keeps the tubes liquid covered (spill back section).
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Slide 2 of 2: The failure occurred just past the weir on the drain side of the kettle. As
can be seen in the left photo, the “washed” out area was quite large and concentrated
near the bottom, indicating that the corrosion many have been aggravated by an
erosion accelerating factor. The accelerated corrosion mechanism was determined to
be from a high heat stable salts (6-8%) event resulting from a significant tail gas unit
upset.
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Tail Gas Unit Regenerator thermal siphon reboiler. This reboiler was retubed and
returned to service in June 2000. The reboiler was in service for 16 months then
required shutdown due to excessive leaking - 193 tubes (6.4%) were leaking.
Numerous other tubes in addition to the leaking ones had extensive metal loss at the
tube sheet, as shown in the upper left photo. Root cause is attributed to extensive H2S
flashing. Long-term resolution = 316SS tubes that are strength welded to a carbon steel
tube sheet in a carbon steel shell. Keeping the shell and tube sheet in carbon steel
avoids significant reboiler modifications that would be required for a different grow factor
associated with an all stainless steel reboiler.
Wet Steam:
Claus Unit Air Blower – 550# Steam Turbine Driver
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Slide 1 of 7: This Claus Unit air blower driver is a steam turbine of the Curtis design
type. It consists of two rotating rows of blades with a stationary reversing section
between the rows. As steam enters the turbine it passes across a nozzle block. The
nozzle block directs the steam on the first row of rotating blades. The steam then
passes across the reversing section to the second row of rotating blades. Steam
entering the turbine at design conditions will exit the turbine above the saturation point
(no moisture). The design conditions for the steam supply to the turbine are 520 psi at
700 F (218 F of superheat). The design exhaust condition is 55 psi. Local
instrumentation indicates that the steam supply to the turbine is entering at saturated
conditions at 560 psi. As the steam passes across the first row of blades, it is
reaching a lower energy state and condensing. The water droplets in the inlet steam
and the condensate are carried through the turbine, impacting the lower alloy
components and causing corrosion/erosion.
This blower is one of three, where two are always in operation. During this turbine’s
last inspection in 2007, some erosion of the wheels were observed. The turbine was
shut down on May 26, 2009 due to excessive vibration. A few weeks weeks prior to
the failure, vibration in the bearings were checked and determined to be within
acceptable limits.
2010 Brimstone Sulfur Recovery Symposium Page 25 of 49
Corrosion/Erosion in Sulfur Recovery
(Real-Life Examples) September 16, 2010
Wet Steam:
Turbine Failure – Blade Erosion
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Slide 2 of 7: This is showing the wheel erosion that was observed. As the
erosion creates clearance between blades and spacers, these parts wear
against each other.
Wet Steam:
Turbine Failure – Blade Wear
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Slide 3 of 7: This photo shows the blade wear that was experienced in this
turbine. As the erosion creates clearance between blades and spacers,
these parts wear against each other. Significant wear is on the blade anchor
due to this relative movement.
Wet Steam:
Turbine Failure – Blade and Shroud Band Damage
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Slide 4 of 7: This is a top view of an area with a section of the shroud band
and a blade missing. The blade is supported at the end opposite of the root
by a tenon connection. As the root area loosens, it contributes to the tenon
connection loosening.
As the blades pass the steam nozzles, they vibrate in the slot and the blades
are subject to high-cycle fatigue. After many cycles of operation, the blades
lose the fit in the wheel and shroud band. Eventually the shroud band and
blade break.
Wet Steam:
Turbine Failure – Blade Anchor Fracturing
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Slide 5 of 7: This shows one of the blades with complete anchor failure.
Wet Steam:
Turbine Failure – Blade Anchor Fracturing
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Wet Steam:
Turbine Failure – Blade Anchor Crack (380X Magnification)
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The metal loss on the tube to tubesheet welds observed on this Claus Unit
Thermal Reactor WHB tubesheet are caused high temperature sulfide
corrosion. This resulted from poor hot-gas protection from the casted-ferrule
tubesheet insulating wall due to shrinkage separation of the casted material
from the ferrules. The shrinkage led to gaps around the ferrules and ferrule
breakage as shown in the upper right photo. This tubesheet insulation wall
has since been upgraded to the two-piece hex-head insertable ferrules,
which provide far greater insulating and hot-gas by-pass protection.
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These Illustrate the various failure mechanisms of hydrogen, with the fourth
illustration showing the difference of sulfide-stress cracking.
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This diagram shows how atomic hydrogen penetrates into the metal matrix.
H2
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Atomic hydrogen that penetrates through the metal wall into a micro-void
area can result in the atoms recombined to H2. The resultant build-up of
hydrogen gas in the metal matrix forms a gas pocket by separating the
metal, resulting in a “hydrogen blister”.
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Hydrogen Blistering:
HDS Recycle Hydrogen Amine Contactor (725 psig)
Significant Blister
Area of Blistering
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Slide 1 of 3: Scan of this HDS recycle hydrogen amine contactor that operates at
735 psig showed metal hydrogen blistering near the bottom of the contactor.
Hydrogen Blistering:
HDS Recycle Hydrogen Amine Contactor (725 psig)
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Slide 2 of 3: Detailed scan information highlighting the large 15” X 12” metal
hydrogen blister near the bottom of the contactor that was found.
Hydrogen Blistering:
HDS Recycle Hydrogen Amine Contactor (725 psig)
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Slide 3 of 3: The resultant large blister in the carbon steel amine contactor
was an area 15” X 12” in size in the bottom section of the tower. Along with
large amounts of smaller blistering, this warranted a complete replacement
of an 8’ segment of the tower shell and the tower bottom head.
Cavitation Erosion:
800 psig BFW Control Valve (let down to 50 psig)
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High Pressure (800 psi+) Boiler Feed Water minimum flow Control Valve
that let down to ~50 psi system suffered significant cavitation erosion.
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Slide 1 of 2: This photo shows a failure sign that something has gone very
wrong in the Converter Bed that corresponds to this SulTrap™. A unit
shutdown is soon and certain (if not immediate) when this failure sign
appears.
3 4
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Slide 2 of 2: Photos 1-3 show the failure of the screen edge seal (“fillet”) that
resulted in the collapse of the catalyst bed in this Claus Unit converter. It is
suspected that the “fillet” experienced heat-related expansion that caused it
to crack and separate from the wall; then erosion forced catalyst behind it
where the grating was open to the converter bottom. As catalyst continued
to move past the grating and screen and fill the converter bottom, it
eventually made its way through the converter outlet into the condenser and
out to the sulfur run down.
Photo 4 shows the significantly reinforced new “fillet” that was installed to
resolve this issue. As each of the Refinery’s Claus Units enter into their next
turnarounds, the new converter “fillet” design will be installed.
Corrosion/Erosion:
High Pressure Rich Amine Pipe (1300 psig)
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This is a pipe section fabricated of carbon steel from the rich amine release
line off of a recycle hydrogen contactor operating at 1300 psig. The mole
loading of the rich amine is typically 0.4 to 0.45 mol/mol and the line velocity
is typically 6.7 ft/s. This line is experiencing corrosion/erosion rates 4 times
greater than accepted normal loss rate of 10 MPY. The line was upgraded
to 316L stainless steel.
Ammonium Salts
• Heavier and more sour crudes tend to have higher
concentrations of bound nitrogen
• Bound nitrogen is removed during hydrotreating:
– Producing ammonia
– Higher severities to produce low sulfur gasoline and ULSD are
typically ensuring removal of the bound nitrogen
– Denitrification of FCCU feeds to improve cracking yields has
been a growing trend
– Disposition of the bound nitrogen plays a large role in where
ammonium salt problems will occur
• Ammonia reacts with H2S to form ammonium salts which
are removed with wash water and processed in the SWS
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Ammonium Salts
• Ammonium salt (ammonium bisulfide) readily forms in the
presents of H2S when below 160ºF (71ºC):
H2S(g) + NH3(g) 㹜 NH4SH(s)
• Ammonium salt is removed by adding wash water – the salts
have high solubility in water:
- +
NH4SH(s) 㹜 NH4(aq) + SH(aq)
• Ammonium salt solutions can cause sever corrosion
• Trace amounts of ammonia slip through the wash water
systems and are absorbed in the amine at the contactor
• Ammonia concentrates in the overhead system of the amine
regenerator leading to high ammonium salt concentrations in
the tower reflux and acid gas
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Pipe Orientation
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This is a pipe section fabricated of carbon steel from the down stream side
of an HDS stripper overhead condenser operating at ~100 psig and ~130ºF.
Amongst other contributing factors, ammonium salt concentration played a
large role in the corrosion/erosion mechanism that lead to this failure. When
high amounts of ammonium salt are present, particular attention needs to be
given to the flow velocities, materials of construction and water injection
rates to ensure piping reliability will be maintained.
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Corrosion/Erosion in Sulfur Recovery
(Real-Life Examples) September 16, 2010
References:
1. “Sour Water Stripper Case Study: Tray and Reboiler
Corrosion”, 2005 Sulfur Recovery Symposium, Matt
Gunn and Philip Oberbroeckling, 9/15/2005.
2. “Hydrogen Induced Cracking in Amine Systems”,
Lyondell-Citgo Refining LP, Chris Bookout and Renée
Downie, August 25, 2004.
3. “Turnaround Management (For the Sulfur Recovery
Industry)”, 2004 Sulfur Recovery Symposium, Philip J.
Oberbroeckling, September 15, 2004.
4. “Practical Design Considerations for New Construction
and Revamps”, 2002 Sulfur Recovery Symposium,
Philip Oberbroeckling, September 11, 2002.
5. Go Misawa, Matrix Inspection & Engineering Inc.,
February, 7 2003.
6. The Hendrix Group, Inc., July 19, 2010.
7. Alan McQueen/Glen Fangmann, Fike Corporation,
5/3/2010.
8. Paul Maier, LyondellBasell, 7/30/2009.
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(Real-Life Examples) September 16, 2010
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