A corrosion inhibition study of carbon steel in a 0.7 MWe Pilot CO₂ capture process

Corrosion mitigation is an important topic for amine-based post-combustion carbon dioxide (CO₂) capture operations due to the desire to use less expensive but corrosion-vulnerable materials such as low carbon steels in the construction of a capture system. In this study, the corrosion behavior of carbon steel in an in-house solvent was investigated in a pilot-scale post combustion CO₂ capture process. Carbon steel specimens were placed inside process units where corrosion problems were previously found in the stripper column and the CO₂-rich amine piping. An organic compound was studied as a corrosion inhibitor and degradation inhibitor in a range of 0 to 1000 ppm. It was found that the use of this corrosion inhibitor effectively retarded the corrosion rates of carbon steel in both unit locations.