John Shirokoff

This study investigates the performance of oil-water separation experimentally using two methods: gravity separation, and electrolysis separation. A factorial design experiment was conducted for gravity separation using a five-variable experimental plan where the factors are as follows: water flow rate, oil flow rate, temperature, number of compartments (2) and (1), and type of separator inlet deflector plate and elbow. The electrolysis separation was conducted using one factor at a time method. It was found that increasing temperature, voltage, and (NaCl) salt increases the performance of oil-water separation, however increasing the pH or volumetric oil to water ratio acts adversely.

The corrosion resistance of aluminum 7075 T651 in full clad (Alclad), partial clad, and bare (unclad) forms was compared after 300 hours of corrosion exposure in an acidic salt spray cabinet test at 36°C. After corrosion exposure, severe to moderate exfoliation corrosion was observed on the unprotected medium sized test panel, light general corrosion was observed on the partially clad panel, and patches of corrosion not penetrating the clad layer were observed on the fully clad panel. After corrosion tests, the tensile strength of partially clad, fully clad, and unprotected panels decreased by 3.4%, 4.0%, and 5.3%, respectively.

The chemical degradation of alloy components in sulfur-containing environments is a major concern in oil and gas production. This paper discusses the effect of elemental sulfur and its simplest anion, sulfide, on the corrosion of Cr-Mo alloy steel at pH 2 and 5 during 10, 20 and 30 h immersion in two different solutions. 4130 Cr-Mo alloy steel is widely used as tubing and tubular components in sour services. According to the previous research in aqueous conditions, contact of solid sulfur with alloy steel can initiate catastrophic corrosion problems. The corrosion behavior was monitored by the potentiodynamic polarization technique during the experiments. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) have been applied to characterize the corrosion product layers after each experiment. The results show that under the same experimental conditions, the corrosion resistance of Cr-Mo alloy in the presence of elemental sulfur is significantly lower than its resistance in the presence of sulfide ions.

The corrosion resistance and corrosion products of 4130 alloy steel have been investigated by depositing thin films of iron sulfide synthesized from an acidic chemical bath. Tests were conducted at varying temperatures (25°C–75°C), pH levels (2–4), and immersion time (24–72 hours). The corrosion behavior was monitored by linear polarization resistance (LPR) method. X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy, and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) have been applied to characterize the corrosion products. The results show that, along with the formation of an iron sulfide protective film on the alloy surface, increasing temperature, increasing immersion time, and decreasing pH all directly increase the corrosion rate of steel in the tested experimental conditions. It was also concluded that increasing temperature causes an initial increase of the corrosion rate followed by a large decrease due to transformation of the iron sulfide crystalline structure.