Development of materials resistant to metal dusting degradation.
The deposition of carbon from carbonaceous gaseous environments is prevalent in many chemical and petrochemical processes such as, hydrogen-, ammonia-, and methanol-reforming systems, syngas production systems, and iron-ore reduction plants. One of the major consequences of carbon deposition is the degradation of structural materials by a phenomenon known as ''metal dusting''. There are two major issues of importance in metal dusting. First is formation of coke and subsequent deposition of coke on metallic structural components. Second is the initiation and subsequent propagation of metal dusting degradation of the structural alloy. In the past, we reported on the mechanism for metal dusting of Fe- and Ni-base alloys. In this report, we present metal dusting data on both Fe- and Ni-base alloys after exposure in high and atmospheric pressure environments that simulate the gas chemistry in operating hydrogen reformers. We have also measured the progression of pits by measuring the depth as a function of exposure time for a variety of Fe- and Ni-base structural alloys. We have clearly established the role of transport of iron in forming a non-protective spinel phase in the initiation process and presence of carbon transfer channels in the oxide scale for the continued propagation of pits, by nano-beam X-ray analysis using the advance photon source (APS), Raman scattering, and SEM/EDX analysis. In this report, we have developed correlations between weight loss and pit progression rates and evaluated the effects of carbon activity, system pressure, and alloy chemistry, on weight loss and pit propagation. To develop pit propagation data for the alloys without incurring substantial time for the initiation of pits, especially for the Ni-base alloys that exhibit incubation times of thousands of hours, a pre-pitting method has been developed. The pre-pitted alloys exhibited pit propagation rates similar to those of materials tested without pre-pitting. We have also developed a substantial body of metal-dusting data on the performance of Fe- and Ni-base weldments. During the course of this project, we have developed new Ni-base and Cu-base alloys and tested them in simulated metal dusting environments at 1 atm and at high pressures. Results clearly showed superior performance of both classes of alloys in resisting metal dusting. We also developed an approach to mitigate metal dusting by performing an intermediate oxidation step for extending the life of alloys in which metal dusting has initiated and pits are in progression. Finally, we have analyzed several components that have failed in plants such as hydrogen plant, pilot plant reformer, and a gas boiler.
- Research Organization:
- Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC)
- DOE Contract Number:
- DE-AC02-06CH11357
- OSTI ID:
- 920980
- Report Number(s):
- ANL-07/30; TRN: US200803%%140
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- ENGLISH
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