Sulfidation and High-Temperature H2/H2S
Corrosion Detection

Sulfidation (sulfidic corrosion) can detrimentally impact the functional life of pressure components constructed of carbon steel and other alloys, operating in sulfur-containing process environments at elevated temperatures. In general, sulfidation corrosion is delineated into two distinct categories (considered to be separate damage mechanism variants in process environments with sulfidation-causing sulfur species): hydrogen (H2)-free and hydrogen-containing service conditions [1-3]. While these two categories, both described herein, are a function of process constituents (specifically, the presence of hydrogen), they are both diffusion-based, non-aqueous, corrosion mechanisms occurring at elevated temperatures. From a terminology perspective, sulfidic corrosion in H2-free service environments is referred to as conventional “sulfidation” herein. Moreover, sulfidic corrosion coupled with H2-containing process conditions is typically referred to as “high-temperature H2/H2S corrosion”.