Effects of Water and Gas Compositions on the Internal Corrosion of Gas Pipelines—Modeling and Experimental Studies

Abstract Results of a laboratory study of internal corrosion in wet gas pipelines under conditions involving a stagnant or slowly flowing aqueous phase indicate that the corrosion rate is not affected by calcium and magnesium scale-forming tendency of the test solutions, provided that they are buffered. It is possible that the scales formed are sufficiently porous to permit electrolyte contact with steel. However, an increase in pH and decrease in oxygen resulted in significant corrosion rate reduction. Thermodynamic analyses indicate that the formation of metastable iron sulfide (FeS) precipitates is promoted by higher pH and higher dissolved iron concentration, and hindered by the presence of carbon dioxide (CO2). The presence of oxygen on corrosion may lead to the transformation of a metastable FeS phase, mackinawite (Fe1+xS), to another metastable phase, greigite (Fe3S4). Electrochemical polarization data indicate that the steel behaves in an active manner symptomatic of a nonprotective corrosion prod...