Assessing the Possibility of Hydrogen Damage in Crude Oil Processing Equipment

Hydrogen sulphide (H₂S) in certain proportions in the process fluid (gas, gas condensate, crude oil, or a multi-phase system) in combination with the total system pressure, the pH of the environment, the CO₂ content, and the chloride ion concentration can cause extensive damage to the equipment by inducing sulfide stress corrosion cracking (SSC), hydrogen stress cracking (HSC), hydrogen blistering, hydrogen induced cracking (HIC), and stress oriented hydrogen induced cracking (SOHIC).  The propensity to hydrogen damage can be estimated by measuring the hydrogen flux through the material of the vessel.  Thus the non-destructive assessment of the possibility of hydrogen damage in process equipment using such a technique is of prime interest to operating companies.  
The present paper provides field data on hydrogen flux measurements on different types of crude oil processing equipment under various operating conditions and their correlation to anticipated and actual hydrogen damage. 
Keywords: Hydrogen Damage, Hydrogen Flux Measurement, Crude Oil Processing