DNA Inhibition of Hydrogen Ion-Induced Corrosion of Mild Steel Used for Pipelines in Oil and Gas Industries

Abstract

Corrosion of mild steel via chemical reaction in a corrosive environment is a problematic occurrence that is very common in oil and gas industries. Corrosion constitutes a huge part of the total costs in the production of oil and gas. Corrosion inhibitors have found interest in the scientific domain because they are mainly understood by their chemical complexes and formulations. Their utilization in small amount on metal surface used in oil and gas industries can help shield the metal from corrosion devoid of any significant alteration in the concentration of the corrosive media in the environment. An effort was made to study the possibility of using calf thymus gland DNA (CTGDNA) inhibitor in chlorine induced mild steel for possible usage in piping in oil and gas industry. The SEM micrograph shows that the adsorption of the CTGDNA biomacromolecules coat on the mild steel surfaces functions as a protection against HCl corrosive solution. Electrochemical study and weight loss analysis showed that the inhibitor efficiency (70.48 and 72%, respectively) of the tested DNA (CTGDNA) in HCl acidic corrosion environment for the mild steel was high at 1.5 M of HCl. The inhibitor efficiency decreased with increasing HCl concentrations. The open circuit potential (OPC) revealed that the mild steels got corroded until the end of the immersion. The intensities of XRD peak substantiate the existence of corrosion products of FeCl2.