High-Temperature Oxidation of Steels in Direct-Fired CO2 Power Cycle Environments

Abstract

Future direct-fired supercritical CO2 power cycles require steels resistant to oxidation/corrosion in high-temperature CO2 environments containing various impurities. Herein we studied the oxidation behavior of 14 candidate steels in a simulated direct-fired CO2 power cycle environment consisting of 95% CO2, 4% H2O, 1% O2 with/without 0.1% SO2 at 1 atm and 550 °C, 600 °C, 650 °C for up to 2500 h. Steels with ≥ 11.5 wt% Cr exhibited at least partial coverage by Cr-rich oxide scales leading to a significant decrease in the oxidation rates in both gases. While SO2 had little effect on low-Cr steels that formed Fe-rich oxides, it generally worsened performance of high-Cr (> 11.5 wt%) steels by hindering the establishment of a protective Cr-rich oxide. This effect was most pronounced at the lowest temperature of 550 °C, which was attributed to strong preferential adsorption of sulfur-containing species within the oxide at relatively low temperatures.