Chlorides resistant alloy ends tank maintenance in solvent recovery system

Journal Article · Mon Mar 01 00:00:00 EST 1982 · Chem. Process. (Chicago); (United States)

OSTI ID:6744311

The IBM plant in Endicott, NY was having corrosion and maintenance problems with tanks in recycling systems for methylene chloride and methyl chloroform (1,1,1-trichloroethane). The solvents are used in the photoetching process to produce printed circuit boards for IBM data processing equipment, and both liquids and vapor are reclaimed in solvent recovery systems for reuse. The steam stripping process is the source of the corrosion problem since halogenated hydrocarbons hydrolyze in the presence of water, especially at elevated temperatures. One hydrolysis product is hydrochloric acid that not only exhibits the general corrosion potential of all acids, but also causes chloride ion-induced pitting and stress corrosion cracking. Very few materials offer adequate resistance to these latter forms of corrosion. The plant decided to eliminate the coating separation problem by constructing the solvent recovery tank entirely of a corrosion-resistant alloy. The choice of material was suggested by a tank made of a nickel-chromium-molybdenum alloy that was still intact after 8 years of service in another methyl chloroform recovery system, but of different design, in the plant. The alloy offers outstanding resistance to many kinds of corrosive environments under both oxidizing and reducing conditions, including resistance to chloride-ion pitting and stress corrosion cracking. The new solvent recovery tanks of the Ni-Cr-Mo alloy have now been in operation for almost a year without any sign of corrosion. They have performed perfectly without even a gasket leak.

• OSTI ID: 6744311
• Journal Information: Chem. Process. (Chicago); (United States), Vol. 45:3
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
CHLORINATED ALIPHATIC HYDROCARBONS
RECOVERY
CHROMIUM ALLOYS
CORROSION RESISTANT ALLOYS
CORROSION PROTECTION
MOLYBDENUM ALLOYS
NICKEL ALLOYS
ORGANIC SOLVENTS
RECYCLING
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
IMAGES
ALLOYS
DATA
HALOGENATED ALIPHATIC HYDROCARBONS
INFORMATION
NUMERICAL DATA
ORGANIC CHLORINE COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC HALOGEN COMPOUNDS
SOLVENTS
320303* - Energy Conservation
Consumption
& Utilization- Industrial & Agricultural Processes- Equipment & Processes
320305 - Energy Conservation
Consumption
& Utilization- Industrial & Agricultural Processes- Industrial Waste Management