Emerson unveils new system to monitor corrosion

Emerson Process Management has launched an innovative new corrosion monitoring system for refineries, officials announced on Wednesday. 

The Roxar Corrosion Monitoring system, consisting of wireless-based probes, will provide refineries with flexible, responsive, integrated and accurate corrosion monitoring, according to project officials.

Combined with the Emerson’s non-intrusive Field Signature Method (FSM) technology, a non-intrusive system for monitoring internal corrosion at the pipewall, refinery operators will be able to access more comprehensive corrosion information and corrosion rates, leading to improved operator insight and control over assets.

The new system will ensure optimal production processes and reduce refinery downtime with only the necessary amount of corrosion inhibitors being injected to meet environmental requirements, officials say.

The wireless-based corrosion monitoring solution also comes with fast response times, continuous measurements and installation in the plant’s critical and often inaccessible sections. The system provides crucial information to risk-based inspections with other wireless benefits including reduced installation costs and improved data management.

The system will also help identify and track opportunity/high TAN crudes and their corrosive elements. Such crudes are less expensive but more corrosive than others with the new system enabling the maximum amount of such crudes to be blended into the mix without increasing corrosion risk. An increase in opportunity crudes from 1.5% to 3.5% in a refinery with a capacity of 300,000 bpd can result in savings of $8.6 million per year based on a 4-dollar price difference, according to group officials.

“Aging plants, extended operating windows (eg the use of opportunity crudes) and an increased focus on safety and environmental regulations have placed corrosion and integrity management in the spotlight like never before,” said Emerson’s Kjell Wold, who was instrumental in developing the engineering principles behind the new system. 

“That’s why we developed our new integrated corrosion monitoring system -- to help our customers take full control of their refinery assets and ensure all their production processes are operating at peak potential," he continued. "Securing the ideal blend of crudes without increasing corrosion threats is also a major benefit to refinery operators.”

The Roxar corrosion monitoring system consists of high quality electrical resistance (ER) and linear polarization resistance (LPR) probes and weight loss coupons – all coming with high temperature ratings, high resolution (10-100 nanometers) and fast response times. The ER and LPR monitoring functions are also available on the same instrument, and a 20-meter cable provides added flexibility with respect to positioning, optimized signal routing, easier maintenance and probe replacement.

The system also comes with advanced wireless capabilities and is compatible with the WirelessHART protocol as well as Emerson’s broad product refinery range. The system is part of a complete asset integrity solution and works alongside the Roxar Field Signature Method (FSM) and Rosemount pressure and temperature transmitters and repeaters.

The system can be installed in a number of refinery applications, including side streams, cooling systems and in addressing naphthenic acid corrosion in high temperature distillation processes. It can also tackle increased corrosion triggered by high velocity and temperatures, malfunctioning desalting units and high sulfur content. The system was recently deployed on a Polish refinery, according to group officials, where the high resolution allowed for the observation of fast moving corrosion trends with corrosion rates increasing to 65 micrometers within just 14 days.