Sulfolane-induced corrosion can lead to severe impairment in industrial systems. Therefore, determination of solvent corrosivity is valid. Under standard conditions, pure sulfolane is considered to be thermally stable and chemically inert, hence non-aggressive towards carbon/stainless steel. Unfortunately, the sulfolane-evoked corrosion of the industrial installations is observed for sulfolane-based systems polluted by small quantities of oxygen, water and some oxidizing agents. Moreover, sulfolane decomposition with formation of corrosive (by-)products can be escalated by some process parameters, e.g., temperature. The main objective of this study was to determine the corrosion resistance of AISI 1010 steel immersed in sulfolane at temperatures ranging from 25 to 230 °C. Evaluation of the corrosion damage was carried out using electrochemical techniques and scanning probe/electron microscopy, respectively. The general corrosion tendency, corrosion rate and surface corrosion degree were taken into account as well. It was noticed that the corrosion rate linearly increases with the enhancement of sulfolane temperature. Moreover, the interfacial reaction of steel with sulfolane resulted in the formation of corrosion product layer, which is a physical barrier between the corrosive environment and steel improving corrosion resistance of the latter. In fact, the increment of the sulfolane temperature caused a gradual breakdown of the protective layer and the increase in the corrosion degree of the investigated steel. Finally, it was found that the corrosion degree doubles approximately every 42 °C.
Keywords: AISI 1010 carbon steel; corrosion resistance; electrochemical techniques; solvent temperature; sulfolane.