Corrosion monitoring and root cause identification in high solids concentrators

Black liquor high solids (about 80%) concentrators have often been found to suffer from aggressive corrosion. In particular, the first and second effect bodies are susceptible to corrosion attacks resulting in tube leaks and wall thinning, which limit the availability and lifetime of evaporator lines. Corrosion dynamics and construction materials have been studied extensively within the pulp and paper industry to understand the corrosion process. However, it has been challenging to identify root causes for corrosion, which has limited proactive measures to minimize corrosion damage. Corrosion of the first phase concentrator was studied by defining the potential regions for passive area, stress corrosion cracking, pitting corrosion, and general corrosion. This was achieved by using a technique called polarization scan that reveals ranges for the passive area in which the equipment is naturally protected against corrosion. The open circuit potential, also known as corrosion potential, and linear polarization resistance of the metal were monitored online, which allowed for definition of corrosion risks for stainless steel 304L and duplex stainless steels 2205 and SAF 2906. An online temperature measurement added insight to the analysis. A process diagnostics tool was used to identify root causes of the corrosion attacks. Many of the root causes were related to process conditions triggering corrosion. Once the metal surface was activated, it was difficult to repassivate the metal naturally unless a sufficient potential range was reached.