C2024-20691 Corrosion Fatigue and Chloride-Induced Stress Corrosion Cracking in Sulfur Recovery Units

Mohamud Farah, Saud Otaibi - Sulfur pits contain a range of critical equipment and piping such as sulfur product pumps and steam coils.The pumps are crucial for shipping the sulfur product, whilst the steam coils are used for maintainting the molten sulfur temperature between 275-311 °F to prevent solidification and higher sulfur viscosity. Consequently, any impact to the integrity of these equipment impacts the units operational efficiency or worse, lead to total unit shutdown. These equipment are susceptible to a range of damage mechanisms resulting from both operational conditions, such as sulfuric acid corrosion and environmental cracking resulting from steam leakage and ground water seepage respectively.This paper investigates sulfur pumps sulfuric acid corrosion and corrosion fatigue resulting from the synergistic effects of both dynamic loading and chloride induced pitting corrosion. The steam coils in the pit were also found to suffer from both sulfuric acid corrosion and c