AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF THE CORROSIVENESS OF PETROLEUM OILS

• Published in: Annals of Faculty Engineering Hunedoara 2019-05, Vol.17 (2), p.133-140
• Main Authors: Aluvihara, Suresh, Premachandra, Jagath K
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Chemical composition; Corrosion; Corrosion rate; Cracks; Ferrous metals; Hydrocarbons; Metal surfaces; Metals; Optical microscopes; Organic acids; Organic chemistry; Petroleum; Stainless steel; Stainless steels; Submerging; Thiols; Weight loss
• ISSN: 1584-2665; 2601-2332

Petroleum oils are usually composed with various hydrocarbons and also various composites in different forms and phases such as the corrosive compounds which are directly affected on the metallic destruction. In this research the major attention was gone on the investigation of the impact of elemental sulfur, Mercaptans, organic acids and the salts of two different types of petroleum oils on the corrosion rates of seven different types of ferrous metals. The chemical compositions of ferrous metals and the major corrosive properties of both petroleum oils were tested by the standard methodologies and instruments. The corrosion rates of prepared similar sized metal coupons were determined by the weight loss method after certain immersion time periods in both petroleum oils. The corroded surfaces were observed by an optical microscope. Basically there were found the least corrosion rates from stainless steels, relatively higher impact from salts on the corrosion rates of metals when comparing with other corrosive compounds at the room temperatures and the formation of FeS, rarely Fe203, corrosion cracks and the cavities on the metal surfaces as the predominant corrosion compounds.