Monitoring Conditions Leading to SCC/Corrosion of Carbon Steel

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• Liquid Pipeline
• Ethanol
• Stress Corrosion Cracking

Main Objective

Develop a field operable monitoring system to determine the conditions under which steel pipelines or other equipment may be susceptible to SCC. Install the monitoring system and conduct studies over an extended period of time. Develop guidelines for decision making from monitoring and other laboratory information.

Public Abstract

Pipeline transportation of ethanol is vital to the cost effective delivery of this fuel to the end-users. Corrosion and stress corrosion cracking (SCC) are potential concerns, although the latter is of greater concern for fuel grade ethanol. Previous studies conducted by the project team have shown that the propensity of steel to crack depends on the dissolved oxygen content and the corrosion potential. Regardless of the ethanol source or blend ratio, if the oxygen concentration is reduced and the corrosion potential is reduced below -100 mV vs. Ag/AgCl reference electrode, no SCC is observed. Thus, monitoring the dissolved oxygen concentration and/or corrosion potential is essential to determining when a pipeline or tank enters in an SCC-susceptible mode of operation. This may, in turn, help in deciding timely mitigative actions. This research project aims to develop monitoring tools and then field-test them in tank farms and pipelines. The major benefit of the project is that a reliable monitoring tool will become available to industry before significant quantities of ethanol are transported. Such a monitoring tool will enable timely corrective actions to be made and is not only useful for pipelines, but also for other modes of ethanol transportation. This Consolidated Program consists of this project and Project 246 and Project 247.

Quarterly Status Reports

1st Quarterly Status Report - Public Page

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2nd Quarterly Status Report - Public Page

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5th Quarterly Status Report - Public Page

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4th Quarterly Status Report - Public Page

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3rd Quarterly Status Report - Public Page

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