Protection of Metals, Vol. 38, No. 3, 2002, pp. 284288. Translated from Zashchita Metallov, Vol. 38, No.

3, 2002, pp. 323327.

Original Russian Text Copyright 2002 by Medvedeva, Guryanov.

SHARING
OF EXPERIENCE

On the Corrosion State of Plants for Purifying Natural Gas

from Acid Components
M. L. Medvedeva* and V. V. Guryanov**
*Gubkin Oil and Gas University, Moscow, Russia
**OAO Astrakhan gazprom, Astrakhan, Russia
Received March 16, 2001

AbstractCorrosion state of the equipment of gas purifying units operated at the Astrakhan Gas Works for
separating acid components, from the raw product is analyzed. Corrosivity of the main technological media of
these plants is analyzed. Methods for enhancing the efficiency of the equipment are recommended, including
the optimization of the absorbent composition, computation of technological pipelines, etc.

The equipment failures in the units of purifying natural gas from acid components, operating in the Astrakhan Gas Works (AGW), are mainly associated with
corrosion damage. Therefore, in this work, we aimed at
analyzing the corrosion condition of these units and
suggesting basic steps to enhance the efficiency of the
equipment in use and newly added units.
The purifying plants operated at the AGW are
designed for separating hydrogen sulfide and carbon
dioxide constituting ca. 25 and 15% of the raw gas,
respectively. The acid components are separated with a
selective solvent, by means of a regeneration cycle process. According to the process, upon the primary
removal of deposit water and condensed gas the raw
natural gas is sent to absorber. Inside the absorber, the
gas moves in a counterflow with the absorbent which
selectively dissolves H2S and CO2 . The temperature in
the absorber is 110C, the pressure is 6.5 MPa. The
purified gas is removed from the absorber, whereas the
absorbent enriched in hydrogen-sulfide and carbondioxide is sent for regeneration. The absorbent first
passes two separators (a high-pressure and a low-pressure ones) to separate hydrocarbons, then, it is heated in
heat-exchangers, and finally moves to a desorber where
it looses the acid gases (at a temperature of 130C and
a pressure of 0.14 MPa). The regenerated absorbent is
further cooled in the heat-exchangers, released of
mechanical impurities, and becomes ready for reuse.
Four similar plants operate in parallel at the AGW
since the end of 1986early 1987. A 33%-diethanolamine (imported) solution was first used as absorbent.
Starting from November 1994, all plants were sequentially converted to a combined absorbent, that is, a
35%-solution of mixture of alcanolamines (30% of
diethanolamine, DEA and 70% of monoethanolamine,
MEA) produced in Russia. However, with time, the
idea of combined absorbent was given away, due to

adverse corrosion situation. Nonetheless, because similar combined absorbents are advantageously used in
other works [1], we aimed at analyzing the current state
of affairs, in particular, assessing the above idea of
replacing the absorbent.
The corrosion state of the equipment is monitored
since the plants have been put into operation. The corrosion state of the equipment differs significantly from
that of pipelines.
Based on the monitoring documentation, we concluded:
(1) The metal in the plants suffers both general and
pitting corrosion;
(2) No significant corrosion effect was observed in
the majority of the plants until 1994, except for the
high- and low-pressure separators where corrosion pits,
up to 2.8 mm deep, were detected at the inlet sockets
and the adjacent sections of the shell. The corresponding corrosion rate was approximately 0.5 mm per year.
Based on the results of inspecting the separators in
1994, we found significant deviations from their
design, admitted during the manufacturing and putting
into operation. Most probably it is these deviations that
have caused the above corrosion of inlet sockets;
(3) Starting from 1994, the corrosion grew dramatically severer. Almost all of the equipment became damaged by corrosion, and the heaviest was the damage to
the units that contacted the saturated absorbent, i.e.,
separators and the desorber. As to the type of corrosion,
it remained general and pitting, however, its rate
became much higher (and mostly exceeded 1 mm per
year). Thus, the aggravation of the corrosion situation
unambiguously synchronized with the transition to the
combined absorbent. Therefore, it is reasonable to con-

0033-1732/02/3803-0284$27.00 2002 MAIK Nauka /Interperiodica