Natural Gas Industry: Materials and Corrosion
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Natural Gas Industry: Materials and Corrosion R. Salinas1, A. So1, B. Valdez1, M. Schorr1, J. M. Bastidas2, M. Carrillo1, L. Alvarez1
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Instituto de Ingeniería, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Blvd. Benito Juárez y Calle de la Norma s/n, Col. Insurgentes Este, C.P. 21280 2
National Center for Metallurgical Research, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), 28040 Madrid, Spain. ABSTRACT Corrosion is a worldwide, crucial problem that strongly affects natural and industrial environments, in particular the oil and gas industry. Natural gas (NG) is a source of energy in industrial, residential, commercial and electric applications. The abundance of NG in many countries augurs a profitable situation for the vast energy industry. NG is considered friendlier to the environment and with lesser greenhouse gas emissions as compared with other fossil fuels. In the last years, shale gas is increasingly exploited in U.S. and Europe, applying a hydraulic fracturing technique, for releasing gas from the bed rock by injection of saline water, acidic chemicals and sand to the wells. Various critical sectors of the NG industry infrastructure suffer from several types of corrosion: steel casings of production wells and their drilling equipment; gas conveying pipelines including pumps and valves; plants for regasification of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and municipal networks of NG distribution to the consumers. Practical technologies that minimize or prevent corrosion include selection of corrosion resistant engineering materials, cathodic protection, corrosion inhibitors, and application of external and internal paints, coatings and linings. Mexico is undergoing an intense reform process of the energy sector, that involves its oil, NG and electricity industries. Typical cases of corrosion management in the NG industry are presented based on the authors experience and knowledge. INTRODUCTION Environmental quality, clean energy, and worldwide water scarcity have been established today as central disciplines in modern science, engineering, and technology. They are already linked to the crucial problems of climate change and global warming1,2. At power generation plants which burn fossil fuels: coal, oil, and NG, the last is generally preferred due to transportation and production efficiency, less combustion pollutants, and a favorable quantitative carbonhydrogen ratio. The Japanese earthquake and tsunami at Fukushima damaged the electricity generation nuclear plants, creating problems of national security, industrial safety, and hazardous radiation, leading to a fundamental examination of the future of the nuclear industry by many countries3. Recently, workers at the wrecked Fukushima plant were exposed to radiation after contaminated water was leaking from several pipes. The government in Germany panicked into ordering the closure of several nuclear plants. Renewable energies such as solar and wind are intermittent, surging with the weather. Following these changes, the European aerial electricity grid with ste
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