A Study of Prediction of the Behavior of Hydrogen Sulfide Corrosion in Mild Steel Used for Petroleum Pipelines

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) corrosion is a common problem in oil, gas and Petrochemical/Chemical industries. This becomes a particularly dangerous form of corrosion in the industry as it occurs without any warning. Petroleum refining industry can be identified as one of the industries which faces the disastrous consequences of H2S corrosion. Most of the petroleum pipelines are made out of mild steel that is easily attacked by H2S corrosion. H2S corrosion begins with the synergistic effect of tensile force and H2S rich environment imposed on mild steel. This corrosion can only be detected using complicated inspection methods such as electro-chemical techniques, nondestructive test methods and optical testing methods etc. But, these techniques have become more complicated to inspect the corrosion due to different environments where the pipelines are set up. The main drawback of these techniques is that any damage that is detected has already occurred. Therefore, necessity of a model to predict the rate and behavior of H2S corrosion has been arising and being discussed for years. This article summarizes major factors affecting H2S corrosion, existing corrosion prediction models and their pros and cons. Furthermore, this paper reviews how corrosion kinetics involve in H2S corrosion and proposed corrosion mechanisms by researchers.