New Corrosion Protection Technology for Refinery Steam Systems

GE (USA) recently announced a new corrosion protection technology specifically designed for refinery boiler and steam condensate systems. GE’s Steamate low salt amine (LSA) product series offers enhanced steam-side corrosion protection while providing greater reliability to the crude unit distillation process.

Water quality can significantly affect refinery operations, including boilers, cooling units and heat recovery systems, having a direct impact on the equipment. GE’s Steamate LSA product series is made up of proprietary blends of volatile amines in combination with GE’s unique polyamine surface corrosion inhibitor. This new technology is cost-effective and will provide corrosion protection of refinery boiler and steam-condensate systems while minimising the potential for formation of corrosive amine salts in crude distillation units where utility steam is used in crude processing.

Corrosion can threaten the reliability and safety of critical refinery equipment, raise maintenance costs, reduce process runtime and jeopardise product quality. In addition, corrosion control is becoming more important as refiners around the world turn to lower-cost "opportunity" crude oil feedstocks and often work to maximise middle distillate production. The GE Steamate LSA series offers a powerful dual corrosion protection feature with a high-performance neutralising amine package in combination with the polyamine surface corrosion inhibitor to provide enhanced corrosion protection in areas that have historically plagued refiners, such as reboilers and users of low-pressure flashed steam. More importantly, the refiner will not be restricted in operation because of crude unit distillation concerns around corrosive and unwanted amines being introduced from the utility steam treatment.

“GE’s new Steamate LSA technology will provide increased reliability and cost savings through the reduced potential for corrosion failures and production interruptions in boiler, steam condensate and crude distillation units,” said Ava Drayton-Elder, water services global product management leader—water and process technologies for GE Power & Water. “Steamate LSA is ideal for refineries, as it offers advanced corrosion protection technology.”

Utilising the latest advancement of GE’s LoSalt simulator software, the proven neutralising amines in Steamate LSA were chosen for both optimum cost performance in the boiler and steam system and compatibility with the refinery crude distillation process. Specifically, they were selected to minimise the potential for formation of corrosive chloride salt deposits throughout the refining process where boiler steam is used in crude processing.