Corrosion prediction in medium pressure vent pipes at high sulfur field stations through numerical analysis of internal wall liquid phase distribution

Abstract In actual production activities, the venting pipeline systems in high-sulfur natural gas processing plants are often affected by internal corrosion, leading to reduced service life. To determine the optimal corrosion monitoring points within the venting pipelines and provide effective guida...

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Main Authors: Jing Li, Jianhua Gong, Jun Shen, Kege Yang, Jin Zhou, Yihong Liao
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-07-01
Series:Scientific Reports
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-03175-5
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author Jing Li
Jianhua Gong
Jun Shen
Kege Yang
Jin Zhou
Yihong Liao
author_facet Jing Li
Jianhua Gong
Jun Shen
Kege Yang
Jin Zhou
Yihong Liao
author_sort Jing Li
collection DOAJ
description Abstract In actual production activities, the venting pipeline systems in high-sulfur natural gas processing plants are often affected by internal corrosion, leading to reduced service life. To determine the optimal corrosion monitoring points within the venting pipelines and provide effective guidance for blowdown operation management, this study conducted a comprehensive predictive analysis of internal corrosion phenomena in the venting pipeline systems of high-sulfur natural gas processing plants. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is utilized to analyze corrosion at different cross-sections within the medium-pressure venting pipeline, considering the effects of flow field distribution, liquid phase distribution, and hydrogen sulfide distribution. Through comparison of numerical analysis results and measured data from high-sulfur natural gas field stations, the suggested analysis method is validated to be reliable and accurate. The results indicate that the distribution of the liquid phase plays a pivotal role in causing internal corrosion within the venting pipeline of high-sulfur natural gas stations. The areas most severely affected by corrosion are identified as follows: at the blind end of pipeline tees (specifically at 3, 6, and 9 o’clock positions), near the blind end at 6 o’clock, at the air inlet (positions 3, 9, and 12 o’clock), at the air outlet (position 6 o’clock), and at elbows (positions 3, 6, and 9 o’clock). The results of this study effectively contribute to predicting the locations of internal corrosion within the venting pipeline of high-sulfur natural gas field stations and providing corresponding maintenance strategies.
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institution Kabale University
issn 2045-2322
language English
publishDate 2025-07-01
publisher Nature Portfolio
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spelling doaj-art-ccbb9efe74384ecfa2508e1bd2f8d33b2025-08-20T04:01:23ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-07-0115111610.1038/s41598-025-03175-5Corrosion prediction in medium pressure vent pipes at high sulfur field stations through numerical analysis of internal wall liquid phase distributionJing Li0Jianhua Gong1Jun Shen2Kege Yang3Jin Zhou4Yihong Liao5Environment and Technology Supervision Research Institute, PetroChina Southwest Oil and Gas Field Company SafetyPetroChina Southwest Oil and Gas Field CompanyEnvironment and Technology Supervision Research Institute, PetroChina Southwest Oil and Gas Field Company SafetyPetroChina Southwest Oil and Gas Field CompanyEnvironment and Technology Supervision Research Institute, PetroChina Southwest Oil and Gas Field Company SafetySchool of Petroleum and Gas Engineering, Southwest Petroleum UniversityAbstract In actual production activities, the venting pipeline systems in high-sulfur natural gas processing plants are often affected by internal corrosion, leading to reduced service life. To determine the optimal corrosion monitoring points within the venting pipelines and provide effective guidance for blowdown operation management, this study conducted a comprehensive predictive analysis of internal corrosion phenomena in the venting pipeline systems of high-sulfur natural gas processing plants. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is utilized to analyze corrosion at different cross-sections within the medium-pressure venting pipeline, considering the effects of flow field distribution, liquid phase distribution, and hydrogen sulfide distribution. Through comparison of numerical analysis results and measured data from high-sulfur natural gas field stations, the suggested analysis method is validated to be reliable and accurate. The results indicate that the distribution of the liquid phase plays a pivotal role in causing internal corrosion within the venting pipeline of high-sulfur natural gas stations. The areas most severely affected by corrosion are identified as follows: at the blind end of pipeline tees (specifically at 3, 6, and 9 o’clock positions), near the blind end at 6 o’clock, at the air inlet (positions 3, 9, and 12 o’clock), at the air outlet (position 6 o’clock), and at elbows (positions 3, 6, and 9 o’clock). The results of this study effectively contribute to predicting the locations of internal corrosion within the venting pipeline of high-sulfur natural gas field stations and providing corresponding maintenance strategies.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-03175-5
spellingShingle Jing Li
Jianhua Gong
Jun Shen
Kege Yang
Jin Zhou
Yihong Liao
Corrosion prediction in medium pressure vent pipes at high sulfur field stations through numerical analysis of internal wall liquid phase distribution
Scientific Reports
title Corrosion prediction in medium pressure vent pipes at high sulfur field stations through numerical analysis of internal wall liquid phase distribution
title_full Corrosion prediction in medium pressure vent pipes at high sulfur field stations through numerical analysis of internal wall liquid phase distribution
title_fullStr Corrosion prediction in medium pressure vent pipes at high sulfur field stations through numerical analysis of internal wall liquid phase distribution
title_full_unstemmed Corrosion prediction in medium pressure vent pipes at high sulfur field stations through numerical analysis of internal wall liquid phase distribution
title_short Corrosion prediction in medium pressure vent pipes at high sulfur field stations through numerical analysis of internal wall liquid phase distribution
title_sort corrosion prediction in medium pressure vent pipes at high sulfur field stations through numerical analysis of internal wall liquid phase distribution
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-03175-5
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