ISSN print edition: 0366-6352 ISSN electronic edition: 1336-9075 Registr. No.: MK SR 9/7 Published monthly

Reducing corrosion attacks on carbon steel A285 grade C in petroleum storage tanks by forming a thin film of nano-SiO₂ from sand

Basheer A. Abdulhussein, Alaa M. Ali, and Khalid A. Sukkar

Chemical Engineering Department, University of Technology–Iraq, Baghdad, Iraq

E-mail: khalid.a.sukkar@uotechnology.edu.iq

Received: 22 July 2022  Accepted: 28 October 2022

Abstract:

Crude oil storage tanks usually undergo corrosion problems due to the activity of sulfur compounds, water content, and salts in crude oil. In this study, the corrosion resistance of carbon steel A285 grade C was improved by adding SiO₂ nanoparticles (NPs) as a corrosion inhibitor. The SiO₂ NPs were extracted from sand (from the city of Al-Ramadi in western Iraq) using a combined physical and chemical method. The present work investigated the effect of various additions of SiO₂ NPs as a corrosion inhibitor (i.e., 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, and 1 g/L) on the corrosion resistance of carbon steel A285 grade C. The corrosion rate was evaluated by applying potentiostatic technique under a 1 M concentration of sulfuric acid as the corrosion medium. The results indicated the formation of a thin film of SiO₂ NPs adhering to the surface of the carbon steel and working as a corrosion inhibitor. This film will protect the metal from corrosion by preventing any corrosion activity. Moreover, the results showed that the corrosion rate reduced greatly by increasing the amount of nano-addition. Furthermore, it was found that the corrosion resistance was enhanced dramatically with increasing nano-additions. An optimal corrosion inhibition of more than a 91.6% was achieved with a nano-addition of 1 g/L for the immersion time of 10 h. Additionally, the corrosion inhibition in this process with the eco-friendly material showed a high protection rate and low operating cost.

Keywords: Petroleum industry; API-650 standard; Green corrosion inhibitor; SiO2 NPs; Potentiostatic technique; Inhibition mechanism

Full paper is available at www.springerlink.com.

DOI: 10.1007/s11696-022-02571-9

Chemical Papers 77 (3) 1533–1543 (2023)