Corrosion of materials and scaling in low-salinity East Mesa geothermal brines

Technical Report · Thu Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1981

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6883071· OSTI ID:6883071

McCawley, F X; Cramer, S D; Riley, W D; Carter, J P; Needham, Jr, P B

Field corrosion studies were conducted at the East Mesa Known Geothermal Resources Area (KGRA) in the Imperial Valley, Calif., to determine the optimum materials of construction for use in geothermal mineral energy resource recovery plants. These studies included characterization of geothermal environments and in situ corrosion testing. The corrosion resistance of 10 alloys exposed to 5 brine and steam process environments was evaluated using the low-salinity, high-temperature brine from geothermal well Mesa 6-1. Of these alloys, Hastelloy C-276, Hastelloy S, Inconel 625, titanium-2 nickel, and 316 L stainless steel had excellent resistance to corrosion in all of the process environments; E-Brite 26-1 and 430 stainless steel had fair resistance. Although general corrosion rates for 4130 steel and 1020 carbon steel were substantially higher than those of the other iron-base alloys, these two alloys could prove useful in low-salinity process environments because of their low cost. Aluminum alloy 5005 was the least corrosion resistant alloys and pitted severely. Scales formed on all of the alloys in every process environment. Calcite, aragonite, and an amorphous silicate were the major components of the scales.

• Research Organization: Bureau of Mines, Washington, DC (USA); Bureau of Mines, Avondale, MD (USA). Avondale Metallurgy Research Center
• OSTI ID: 6883071
• Report Number(s): BM-RI-8504
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY
150903* -- Geothermal Engineering-- Corrosion
Scaling & Materials Development
ALKALINE EARTH METAL COMPOUNDS
ALLOYS
ALUMINIUM ALLOYS
ALUMINIUM BASE ALLOYS
ARAGONITE
BRINES
CALCITE
CALCIUM CARBONATES
CALCIUM COMPOUNDS
CARBON COMPOUNDS
CARBON STEELS
CARBONATES
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CHROMIUM ALLOYS
CORROSION
CORROSION RESISTANT ALLOYS
CORROSIVE EFFECTS
EAST MESA GEOTHERMAL FIELD
FLUIDS
GEOTHERMAL FIELDS
GEOTHERMAL FLUIDS
Geothermal Legacy
HASTELLOYS
HEAT RESISTANT MATERIALS
HEAT RESISTING ALLOYS
INCONEL 625
INCONEL ALLOYS
IRON ALLOYS
IRON BASE ALLOYS
MATERIALS
MINERALS
MOLYBDENUM ALLOYS
NICKEL ALLOYS
NICKEL BASE ALLOYS
NIOBIUM ALLOYS
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
SCALING
SILICATES
SILICON COMPOUNDS
STAINLESS STEELS
STEELS
TANTALUM ALLOYS
TITANIUM ALLOYS
TITANIUM BASE ALLOYS