Use of advanced austenitic and duplex stainless steels for applications in Oil Gas and Process industry

摘要

Stainless steels are widely used in the Oil & Gas and chemical process industry. This group of materials is today available in a large variety of alloy compositions, and practically all product forms needed for a construction are available. A historical view and application examples are given on the stainless steel evolution, from the standard grades used in chemical processes to today's most advanced applications in the chemical and oil & gas industry, where demands on reliable and long lasting solutions are necessary. The influence of alloying elements on the properties and manufacturability is described. The chemical industry is a very wide definition of a large group of industries with very different products, from plastics and organic acids to fertilizers, drugs and pesticides. Applications of stainless steels within the chemical industry are described. The first example is organic acids, where the uses of high alloyed duplex stainless steels such as UNS S32205 and UNS S32750 have been successful. Another example is phosphoric acid applications, where the aggressiveness of the process solution depends very much on the fluoride and chloride content of the rock phosphate. In sulfuric acid, the material of construction is very much dependent on the acid concentration and temperature. Nitric acid is another common fertilizer acid which is highly oxidizing, and thereby demands stainless steels with high chromium content but with low molybdenum contents.