Cost of Corrosion
Process control industries spend an average of $50 billion a year on corrosion problems. Real time corrosion technology from W-M can reduce corrosion costs by up to 20%.
First, it is important to understand how conventional (off-line) corrosion monitoring is performed, before the benefits of on-line, real-time corrosion measurement can be appreciated.
Conventional Corrosion Monitoring Methods
Metallic Coupons: generally using the same metal of the process equipment, are inserted into the process stream. The coupon remains in the process stream anywhere from a week to several months since corrosion. The removed coupon is taken a laboratory for analysis. The lab results generally show that there was corrosion and provide a rough idea of the rate of corrosion. Since the rate of corrosion is not precise, the amount of corrosion inhibitor recommended is not precise. This scenario illustrates the problems with this form of corrosion measurement:
- It doesn't provide a historical view or analysis into the real cause of the corrosion, just confirmation that corrosion has occurred
- The lack of specifics in the analysis results in non-optimal use of the chemical corrosion inhibitor
- The measurement process requires system downtime to remove the coupons.
- No analysis can be made until the coupons are removed, which may be a long time
- Spikes in corrosion due to process variables are averaged out, disguising the real cause of the corrosion
On-line, Real-time Corrosion Measurement
Through real-time monitoring, it has been discovered that most corrosion damage occurs during relatively short periods of time, usually during process start-up, changes, upsets, or shut down. With this new knowledge, customers have modified their operational methods to limit the effects of corrosion and, in some cases, have changed some plant process streams. Here is a summary of the benefits you could realize from an On-line, Real-time Corrosion Measurement Solution:
- Using a corrosion transmitter connected to the DCS or PKS providing real-time corrosion data as a process variable.
- Our corrosion transmitters provide both the general corrosion rate and an indication of localized (pitting) corrosion.
- On-line, real-time corrosion data coupled with process data is the enabler to recognize, understand, and solve the corrosion problem. Seeing corrosion data is the first step but the real goal is to solve the corrosion problem. Data must be presented in the right context in order to have value, like corrosion data correlated with process information.
To learn more about how an On-line, Real-time Corrosion Measurement solution can help you, we welcome you to call our Customer Service Professional at: 800.324.8850 or request more information.