Prediction and Assessment of Rich Amine Corrosion Under Simulated Refinery Conditions

The challenges of enhancing amine unit reliability along with demands for increased unit throughput, circulation and treatment capacity, have led to the need for corrosion quantification and improved corrosion prediction capabilities. This paper summarizes some of the experimental results and findings from a joint industry program entitled “Prediction and Assessment of Corrosion in Amine Solvents” conducted by Honeywell International, Inc. over the period from March 2003 to May 2007. The program was jointly sponsored by a group of refining and engineering companies and focused on rich amine corrosion. The impacts of relevant process variables such as acid gas loadings (H₂S and CO₂), heat stable amine salt (HSAS) concentration, flow velocity/shear stress and temperature on corrosion of carbon steel, AISI 304L, AISI 316L, Duplex 2205 and Alloy 825 were quantified. Data collected were used to develop a software tool to predict corrosion rates for the three amine solvents (MEA, DEA and DGA^®) evaluated in the program.

This paper presents an overview of the experimental methods, some of the results and trends observed and comparison of predicted corrosion rates to refinery field data.

Footnote: DGA^® is a registered trademark of Huntsman Corporation