Abstract
Aluminium in contact with mercury is degraded by amalgamation. This phenomenon is of interest in LNG (Liquefaction of Natural Gas) operations. Where the mercury – either contained in natural gas or from other sources – may be introduced into the system and come into contact with equipment made of aluminium or aluminium alloys (for example, cryogenic exchangers, LNG storage tanks and cargo tanks). Various methods to remove mercury from gas streams are used to trap mercury upstream installations in question by the means of specific absorbers. However, this trapping is not total, and corrosion by mercury even with the state of traces always threatens. In this context, and for the intention of preserving these installations even in the presence of corrosive metal, we recommended a solution which consists in applying a metal chemical nickel coating using the sodium hypophosphite like reducer.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
P.Y. Martin, J. Pigourier, LNG process selection, no easy task, Hydrocarbon Engineering, Axens, 2004
J.M. Van de Graaf, P. Barend, Large-capacity LNG trains, the shell parallel mixed refrigerant process, Business Briefing: Instrumentation & Processing, LNG Review, 2005
T. Goto, A. Furuta, K. Sato, High efficiency mercury removal absorbent for natural gas liquefaction plant, in 10th international Conference Proceeding, Kuala Lumpur, 1992
J.E. Leeper, Mercury corrosion in liquefied gas plants. Energy Process. Can. 73, 46–51 (1981)
R. Coade, D. Coldham, The interaction of mercury and aluminium in heat exchangers in a natural gas plants. Int. J. Press. Vessels Pip. 83, 336–342 (2006)
J.J. English, G. Kobrin, R. Serauskas, Liquid mercury embrittlement of aluminium. Materials Selection and Design, 28, 62–63 (1989)
L. Lacourcelle, Nickelage chimique; Techniques de l’ingénieur. Edition Technip, traité Matériaux métalliques M5 (M1565), 1–14 (1995)
C. Farés, Amélioration du comportement à la corrosion de l’aluminium en présence du mercure par un dépôt de nickel chimique, Master thesis, E.M.P, Alger, 2002
M.H. Brown, W.W. Binger, R.H. Brown, Mercury and its components, a corrosion hazard, in 8th Annual Conference of National Association of Corrosion Engineers, Glaveston, 1952
F.M. Beard, R.A. Hine, The effect of allowing constituents in aluminium of corrosive attack by mercury. Br. Corros. J. 1, 98–101 (1965)
R.C. Plumb, M.H. Brown, J.E. Lewis, A radiochemical tracer investigation of the role of mercury in the corrosion of aluminum, Corrosion, 11 (N°6) (1956), p. 277t
E.G. Meek, Aluminium corrosion, Science Note SSR, June 1987
M.R. Pinnel, J.E. Bennett, Reactions between mercury-wetted aluminum and water. J. Mater. Sci. 8, 1189 (1973)
M.R. Pinnel, J.E. Bennett, Voluminous oxidation of aluminum by continuous dissolution in a wetting mercury film. J. Mater. Sci. 7, 1016 (1972)
J.J. Krupowicz, D.S. Hampton, Cracking of aluminium alloy 5083 in mercuric salt solutions, 1989
W.B. Brooks, The hazards of mercury to metals and alloys in process industries and some little known sources of mercury contamination, Corrosion; 24 N° 10, (1968) p. 335
S.M. Wilhelm, A. McArthur, R.D. Kane, Methods to combat liquid metal embrittlement in cryogenic aluminum heat exchangers, in Proceedings of the 73rd GPA Annual Convention, New Orleans, March 1994, pp. 62–71
P.J.L. Fernandes, R.E. Clegg, D.R.H. Jones, Failure by liquid metal induced embrittlement. Eng. Fail. Anal. 1(1), 51–63 (1994)
J.J. English, D.J Duquette, Mercury liquid embrittlement failure of 5083-0 aluminum alloy piping, Handbook of Case Histories in Failure Analysis, vol. 2, 1993, pp. 207–213
S.P. Lynch, Metal-induced embrittlement of materials. Mater. Charact. 28, 279–289 (1992)
P. Gordon, Metal-induced embrittlement of metals-an evaluation of embrittler transport mechanisms. Metall. Trans. A 9A, 267–273 (1978)
L. Lacourcelle, Revêtements métalliques par voie électrolytique. Techniques de l’Ingénieur M5, 1550 (1990). Edition Technip
Y. Badé, Revêtement métallique par voie électrolytique, Nickelage; Techniques de l’Ingénieur, Edition Technip M5 (M1610), (2000) p. 1–14
J.W. Oswald, Dépôts électrolytiques de nickel épais, Centre d’Information de Nickel
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2011 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
About this paper
Cite this paper
Fares, C., Merati, A., Belouchrani, M.A., Britah, A. (2011). Protection for Natural Gas Installations Against the Corrosive Effect of Mercury by a Chemical Nickel Coating. In: Bolzon, G., Boukharouba, T., Gabetta, G., Elboujdaini, M., Mellas, M. (eds) Integrity of Pipelines Transporting Hydrocarbons. NATO Science for Peace and Security Series C: Environmental Security, vol 1. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0588-3_11
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0588-3_11
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-007-0587-6
Online ISBN: 978-94-007-0588-3
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)