Corrosion Behavior of AISI 316L Stainless Steel in a Highly Sour Environment

Abstract

Sour corrosion in the presence of H2S gases can significantly affect the passive films deterioration of the 316L steel. 0 and 3 bar of H2S gases were chosen to identify how H2S gases could affect the corrosion rate on steels surface at normal and extremely sour conditions. Experiment was operated in an 7L autoclave for 7 days and was kept at 60 °C throughout the testing. The uniform corrosion rates were measured by weight loss while the pitting corrosion rates were determined by using a profilometer, respectively. The oxide layers formed under these conditions were determined by XPS. The results found that at 3 bar of H2S gas condition shows the formation of multi-layers consist of Fe3O4, (NiOH)2, NiO, MoO3, FeS, and NiS. Finally, corrosion products formation on 316L steels surface was then discussed.
 HIGHLIGHTS
 
 The corrosion-resistant alloy (CRA) has been introduced to the pipeline industry due to its excellent properties of corrosion resistance but still remains unclear in a highly sour environment and needs to be further investigated
 316L steel was selected because it is one of the austenitic alloys containing chromium, nickel and molybdenum, making it more corrosion resistant
 The effects of H2S gas pressure on the AISI 316L stainless-steel, with the emphasis on the formation and deterioration of passive films have been discussed
 
 GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT