Natural alkaloid as a non‐toxic, environmentally friendly corrosion inhibitor

The Canadian Journal of Chemical Engineering
2022.0

Abstract

Acid treatments are commonly used in various oilfield treatments in order to remove inorganic scale or to stimulate formations. When applied in high temperature wells, these acids become very corrosive and can cause severe damage to tubulars as well as downhole equipment. Therefore, corrosion inhibitors are a necessary additive in these stimulation treatments. Commercial corrosion inhibitors used in the oil and gas industry are damaging to the environment and harmful to human health. Therefore, it is necessary to find a corrosion inhibitor that is both environmentally friendly and non-toxic. An alkaloid was tested with N-80 and S13Cr coupons and exposed to HCl solutions ranging from 15-28 wt.% at temperatures between 25-121 degrees C for 6 h. In addition, a control solution containing no corrosion inhibitor was used to establish a corrosion rate for a base case at each temperature. For both N-80 and S13Cr metals, the alkaloid performed well, with corrosion rates significantly lower than the industry standards. The concentration of alkaloid used was at 2 wt.% for most tests and was shown to be effective even at concentrations as low as 0.2 wt.%. Furthermore, the corrosion inhibitor was found to be stable in the presence of emulsified acid and was able to provide sufficient corrosion resistance. This shows that this naturally occurring, non-toxic alkaloid is a suitable corrosion inhibitor for oilfield steels as an alternative to existing commercial corrosion inhibitors.

Knowledge Graph

Similar Paper