Analysis and the cause of corrosion and materials loss at the base of a three-phase separator in petroleum-based processing

The three-phase separator was perforated after four years’ service. The perforation position is at the bottom of the vessel under the baffle plate in an oil transfer station. The cause of perforation was investigated by chemical analysis using a direct-reading spectrometer, microstructure examined by optical microscope (OM), and lab simulated corrosion experiments by electrochemical workstation, and the corrosion products examined with scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS) in this paper. The analyses indicated that the coating at the base of the pressure vessel failed and this led to the direct exposure of the carbon steel plate to the corrosive medium. The electrical contact between the carbon steel and the stainless steel, sets up a galvanic cell that accelerated the corrosion of the pressure vessel which eventually led leads to the perforation.