Issue 30

G. Bolzon et alii, Frattura ed Integrità Strutturale, 30 (2014) 31-39; DOI: 10.3221/IGF-ESIS.30.05 31 Focussed on: Fracture and Structural Integrity related Issues An investigation on corrosion protection layers in pipelines transporting hydrocarbons Gabriella Bolzon Politecnico di Milano, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering gabriella.bolzon@polimi.it Giovanna Gabetta eni E&P Division giovanna.gabetta@eni.com Bernardo Molinas Venezia Tecnologie S.p.A. bmolinas@veneziatecnologie.it A BSTRACT . Chemical reactions between carbon steel, water and chemical species produce corrosion layers (scales) on the internal surface of pipelines transporting hydrocarbons. Scales act as a diffusion barrier and prevent the progress of corrosion, a dangerous failure initiator. The protective film (10-100 μm thickness) can be removed locally by the action of the internal flow, or by other mechanisms. Adhesion with the substrate and the failure modes of the corrosion layer can be tested by indentation. Some results are presented of experiments performed on specimens with scales grown in a controlled environment. K EYWORDS . Pipelines; Failure; Corrosion; Protection layers; Iron carbonate scales. I NTRODUCTION orrosion is one of the main phenomena affecting the integrity of pipeline systems [1, 2]. Corrosion may be induced by the presence of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) in the fluids transported with hydrocarbons. CO 2 dissolves in water and forms carbonic acid (H 2 CO 3 ), which dissociates into hydrogen ions (H + ) and carbonic anion (CO 3 2  ). H + ions remove electrons from the metal surface and ferrous ions Fe 2+ dissolve. However, when Fe 2+ and CO 3 2  exceed the solubility limit, precipitation of iron carbonate (FeCO 3 ) scales is initiated and a protective film progressively forms on the metal surface. The morphology of the scales depends on both steel properties and environmental conditions. The compact carbonate scales grown on steel grade X65 (API specifications [3]) at different CO 2 pressure (1 bar and 170 bar, i.e. 100 kPa and 17 MPa) are shown by the SEM micrographs in Fig. 1: the characteristic size of the crystals is significantly different in the two cases; larger crystals are obtained at high pressure in supercritical CO 2 conditions. Scales can vary also in thickness, depending on the exposure time to the aggressive environment. The formation of double corrosion layers, clearly shown for instance in Fig. 2 (right) and Fig. 3 (left), may also occur [4]. C