| dc.description.abstract | Acid treatments are commonly used in the oilfield to remove inorganic scale or to stimulate formations. These treatments typically consist of mineral acids such as hydrochloric acid (HCl), organic acids, or chelating agents. At elevated temperatures, these acids are highly corrosive and can cause severe damage to tubulars and downhole equipment. In order to mitigate some of the damage from these acids, corrosion inhibitors are added to the treatment solution.
Corrosion inhibitors used in the oil and gas industry are typically quaternary amines or sulfur-containing compounds. These compounds adsorb to the surface of the metal, thereby reducing contact between the metal surface and the corrosive substance. However, these corrosion inhibitors are damaging to the environment and harmful to human health. Alternative new environmentally-friendly corrosion inhibitors are also either toxic to the human body or face performance limitations at higher temperature field applications.
In this work, new, environmentally friendly, non-toxic corrosion inhibitors will be investigated. These corrosion inhibitors will be developed from commonly eaten foods, spices, and aromatics in order to ensure their environmental friendliness and non-toxicity. Deriving them from commonly eaten foods also ensures that they will be widely available. Firstly, potential candidates will be obtained from local grocery stores or online retailers. They will then be ground to increase the surface area and immersed in HCl in order to allow for the extraction of any possible inhibiting molecules into the solution. N-80 metal coupons will then be immersed in the extracted solution, and the corrosion rates can be determined. This will be carried out at room temperature conditions for 6h. Following this, the most successful candidates will be tested at temperatures up to 300°F. They will then be tested in the presence of other additives to determine the influence of external additives on their performance. Finally, extracts of these chemicals will be determined and tested in order to verify the chemical compound that is providing the corrosion resistance.
Initial work shows that out of the 99 different samples tested, several showed promising results. This was determined by comparing the results from these tests to a control case where no corrosion inhibitor was used. 9 of these promising samples were then tested at 150°F where 3 were further eliminated. By obtaining the corrosion rate for all cases, the inhibition efficiency of each sample can be determined. Only samples with inhibition efficiency of 90% and higher will be tested at higher temperatures. | en |
