Tube Side Corrosion In Heat Exchangers - A Case Study

Tube side corrosion in heat exchangers is a major concern in the design and operation of these equipment. This paper describes a particularly serious occurrence of what was interpreted to be Microbiologically Increased Corrosion (MIC) in a carbon steel condenser that lead to premature failure of the tubes by perforated corrosion pits. The photographs in the text illustrate the problem and proposed cures are discussed in the conclusions. Copyright © 2006 by ASME.(1999) Standards of the Tubular Exchangers Manufactures Association, , TEMA, N.Y, USAHerro, H., Tubercle Formation and Growth on Ferrous Alloys (1991) NACE Corrosion Congress, , paper No 84Shreir, L., L., et al., 2000, Corrosion, Butterworth- Heinemann, Wobun, NA, USAKilbane, J.J., Quantifying the Contribution of Various Bacterial Groups to Microbiologically Influenced Corrosion (2005) NACE Corrosion 2005 Congress, , Paper No 05491Herro, H., Port, R.D., (1993) The Nalco Guide to Cooling Water System Failure Analysis, , McGraw-Hill Inc, NY, USA(2005) TR-938C-Use of Duplex Stainless Steel in the Oil Refining Industry, , APIBeatty, K.O., Katz, D.L., (1948) Chemical Engineering Progress, 44 (1), pp. 55-70Bell, K.J., Mueller, A.C., (2001) Wolverine Engineering Data Book, , Wolverine Tube CorporationGomes, J.A.C.P., Bueno, A.H.S., Report on the Corrosivity of Cooling Water (2006), COPPE/UFRG internal documentation of PQ