An Example of Chemical Recycling in the Oil and Gas Industry - A By-product from Hydrogen Sulphide Scavenging is Identified, Isolated and Formulated into a Highly Effective Corrosion Inhibitor

Abstract

Abstract This paper describes the isolation and formulation of highly effective corrosion inhibitors from the waste product of hexahydrotriazine based hydrogen sulphide scavengers. Although it has been generally regarded that "spent scavengers are corrosion inhibitors" for some time, this paper uses this generally held belief as a starting point and greatly expands upon this observation. The active species has been identified by analytical methods, isolated from the spent fluid and formulated into highly effective corrosion inhibitors. This is believed to be a unique synergistic chemical recycling process. The application of one chemical product, in its actual operation, acts as a means to chemically synthesize a second chemical in a very highly pure state, such that it can be separated and formulated into a second chemical product, namely a corrosion inhibitor. Analytical data and structural confirmation of the active species are presented together with data to verify its corrosion inhibition properties and also the synergistic formulation of this intermediate to further improve its corrosion inhibition properties. It is believed that this work represents an example of chemical recycling rarely, if ever, seen in our industry.