ASME-coded pressure vessels made of duplex stainless alloy to withstand hot sour crude oil

Journal Article · Sat Feb 01 00:00:00 EST 1986 · Chem. Process. (Chicago); (United States)

OSTI ID:5728478

Gaines, A

Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO) needed an oil/gas separation system for the Lisburne Production facilities on the North Slope of Alaska. The system had to be designed and fabricated from a high strength alloy that could withstand corrosion and abrasion by hot, sour crude oil containing H/sub 2/S and CO/sub 2/, and the even more corrosive brine that is removed prior to pumping the crude oil through the trans-Alaska pipeline. The system as designed includes four vessels rated for pressures to 165 psig that are 13' in diameter and from 39 to 80' long. Various alloys were considered for the severe service, and the final choice was a very low carbon ferritic-austenitic (duplex) stainless alloy that exhibits high resistance to stress corrosion cracking in chloride-bearing media, erosion-corrosion, and abrasion. The duplex alloy is not subject to intergranular corrosion and provides better resistance to pitting and crevice corrosion in both oxidizing and non-oxidizing environments than AISI 316L and 317L stainless steels. It also contains more molybdenum and chromium than AISI 316 stainless steel for superior pitting resistance at substantially higher temperatures and chloride levels, and has twice the yield strength of the austenic stainless alloy. This was the first application of the domestically produced duplex alloy, with full range product capabilities and supplied in the largest sections ever rolled, to fabricate vessels that meet ASME pressure code requirements. The gas/oil separation system with the four pressure vessels will be placed in service in Alaska in 1986.

• OSTI ID: 5728478
• Journal Information: Chem. Process. (Chicago); (United States), Journal Name: Chem. Process. (Chicago); (United States)
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
02 PETROLEUM
CORROSION RESISTANT ALLOYS
USES
PETROLEUM
REFINING
STAINLESS STEELS
CORROSION RESISTANCE
PITTING CORROSION
STRESS CORROSION
PRESSURE VESSELS
ALLOYS
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CHROMIUM ALLOYS
CONTAINERS
CORROSION
ENERGY SOURCES
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
IRON ALLOYS
IRON BASE ALLOYS
PROCESSING
STEELS
360105* - Metals & Alloys- Corrosion & Erosion
020400 - Petroleum- Processing