Assessing and Mitigating

Corrosion
in Closed Loop Cooling Water Systems
Pam Boschee, Oil and Gas Facilities Senior Editor

losed loop cooling water systems that are

critical to the operation of machinery and
process equipment depend on heat exchangers.
The quality of the water used in the system can
adversely affect the integrity and reliability of
the heat exchangers, resulting in accelerated corrosion rates,
equipment failure, and downtime.
A case study presented at the NACE Corrosion 2014
conference in March determined that the root cause of
corrosion failures in a heat exchanger operating in an
onshore liquefied natural gas train system stemmed from
inadequate system cleaning during commissioning and
startup, ineffective microbial control, and subpar monitoring
of pH, iron, total suspended solids (TSS), and total bacteria
counts (TBC).

Root Cause Analysis

of Heat ExchangerFailure

Santuraki and Al-Sayed (2014) described a cooling water

system in which fresh cooling water is supplied at a
temperature of 38C and a pressure of 7 bar, while the return
water temperature is 48C at a pressure of 5 bar. The average
flow rate of the supplied fresh water is 95,000 ton/hr. A oncethrough seawater cooling system cools the return water using
plate and frame heat exchangers (Fig. 1).
Sodium nitrite, blended with azole (for yellow metal
protection), was used for corrosion inhibition, and hydrated
sodium borate was used as a buffer solution. A nonoxidizing
biocide, isothiazolinone, was used for microbial control.
Historically, only nitrite residual and pH were
measured. After a modified corrosion program was
introduced, monitoring of the following parameters
was done at set frequencies: nitrite residual, electrical
conductivity, pH, TSS, iron content, and TBC.
To determine the cause of the heat exchanger failure,
the authors studied the inspection reports, historical
water parameters, sludge analysis, microbial analysis, and
metallurgical analysis of the heat exchanger tubes.
A 69-cm long straight section of a 13-mm outside
diameter tube from a failed heat exchanger was used as the
sample in the case study. The tube was retrieved after the
tube bundle was pulled out for inspection.
The shell and tube design heat exchanger was a nitrogen
compressor cooler, with nitrogen on the tube side and
cooling water on the shell side. The tubes were Unified

Numbering System (UNS) K01200, made of carbon steel

ASTM A179, and the shell was UNS K03006, made of
carbon steel ASTM 106 Grade B. Before the discovery of the
leak, the heat exchanger had been in service for 2 years.

Findings of Inspection and Testing

The tube bundle was found to be covered by a large amount

of orange deposit when it was pulled out (Fig. 2). The fresh
deposits were wet and sticky and had a distinct hydrocarbon
smell. An underlying black deposit was found when the
orange layer was removed.
After the deposits were removed for analysis, the tube
samples were cleaned by sandblasting. After cleaning,
the external surface of the tube displayed deep, irregular
depressions filled with metallic and nonmetallic products
(Fig. 3). The deepest depression was 2.07 mm, about 90%
of the tube wall thickness, corresponding to an average
corrosion rate of 44 thousandths of an inch (mils) per year
(considering the heat exchangers service life of 2 years).
A deposit analysis included loss on ignition (LOI),
scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive
X-ray (EXDA) analysis, Fourier transform infrared
spectroscopy (FTIR), and microbial examination.
LOI at 550C was 3% and 4% for external tube (shell
side) samples A and B, respectively. The SEM-EDXA results
showed that the corrosion product comprised mainly iron
and oxygen, with some copper and sulfur in the pits on the
tubes. Samples taken from the pits for microbial analysis
were negative for total aerobic bacteria, molds, yeast,
and sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB). The authors noted
that because the samples were taken 2 days after the tube
bundle was removed, bringing into question the viability of
microbes, the negative results do not eliminate the possibility
of microbial-induced corrosion. A sulfide spot test, used to
determine the presence of sulfate-reducing bacteria, was
negative. However, the authors said the absence of SRB was
inconclusive, because the sulfide might have reacted to form
other compounds, or might have been washed away, because
the sample was not fresh.

Missed Opportunities for Remediation

Fig. 4 shows periods of low nitrite (corrosion inhibitor)
residuals, sometimes below 300 mg/L. Although nitrite
levels were restored to the threshold limit (500 mg/L), the
cumulative periods of low nitrite residuals were significant.

Seawater supply

Plate heat exchanger

Fresh cooling
water tank

Fresh cooling water return

Seawater return

Process area

Fig. 1A simplified process flow diagram of the fresh water cooling system.

April 2014 Oil and Gas Facilities

21

It was found that when nitrite levels were low, the addition of
the chemical was delayed from 3 to 4 weeks, because of the
lead time required for delivery.
Unexplained depletion of nitrite occurred on some
occasions. A confirmed case of leakage from an extracted
air cooler was documented as the cause in one nitrite
depletionevent.
Following the low nitrite events, increasing
trends of iron were noted. No coupons were available

for determination of corrosion rate. The system also

showed high levels of TSS and had frequent heat
exchangerblockages.
Santuraki and Al-Sayed said that the increase in iron
content during and immediately following the periods of low
nitrite levels was an indication of increased corrosion within
the system. The increases in TSS seen after the low nitrite
conditions were believed to be the results of the presence of
the insoluble iron floating around in the system.

The Widening Competency Gap in Corrosion Management

s shown in the accompanying article, effective asset
integrity management can stumble as a result of
various factors. Sometimes, the people responsible
for the work drop the ball when it comes to putting
together the large picture necessary for the assessment of
a problem. In the case of the failed heat exchanger, missteps
occurred as early as precommissioning and continued
through a 2-year life cycle.
Ali Morshed, corrosion engineering specialist at Saudi
Aramco, highlighted the shortcomings of the traditional
education and training of corrosion engineers at the NACE
Corrosion 2014 conference in March.
High oil prices in recent years, in tandem with the
increasing number of companies that offer integrity
management services, have increased the demand for
competent and experienced corrosion engineers. Morshed
said that university and on-the-job training have been
considered the mainstays in preparing engineers for
asset integrity management. However, in some cases, the
traditional training methods have produced engineers who
could not carry out their routine and daily tasks competently
and efficiently.
The initial competency of a new graduate engineer
depends on the contents, qualities, and the organization of
his or her education and training. In many cases, the situation
is exacerbated by the retirement of the more experienced and
competent colleagues without the transferring or sharing of
knowledge and experience with others.
Universities do a very good job of teaching the students
about electrochemistry, corrosion basics and mechanisms,
metallurgy, cathodic protection and chemical treatment
basicsthe engineering related to corrosion. But, they
do not do as well in teaching failure risk assessment, the
integrity review process, risk-based inspection, production
of inspection scopes, or how to determine and use corrosion
key performance indicatorsthe implementation of
corrosion management principles, Morshed said.
Operators and service companies have tried to bridge
the resultant knowledge gap by providing mentoring or onthe-job training for their novice corrosion engineers by their

22

Oil and Gas Facilities April 2014

more experienced and senior corrosion engineers. In theory,

this approach should work.
However, the working environment and the workload
are often such that the senior colleagues do not have adequate
time to properly and comprehensively train the new engineer,
he said. In most cases, the on-the-job training is haphazard
and random, which does not promote the transfer of
corrosion management knowledge and skills in an organized,
structured, and effective manner.
Adding to the difficulty is that the newly recruited
engineers have been asked to not only act as the project
corrosion engineers (sometimes, with limited, if any,
supervision and guidance), but have also been required to
perform the project management duties, such as time and
resource estimates, time and cost control, and dealing directly
with the clients, Morshed said.
He proposed solutions to enable better preparedness of
new engineers, including
Universities should incorporate an introduction to
asset corrosion management into their engineering
courses to emphasize the distinction between corrosion
engineering and corrosion management.
Only senior corrosion engineers who are conversant in
corrosion management should be selected to serve as
the mentor for the novice engineer.
The senior corrosion engineer should establish clear
and well-defined learning objectives for the on-the-job
training, placing emphasis on corrosion management
(since the engineering aspects have likely been handled
by the university education).
More senior and experienced corrosion engineers
should have opportunities for sharing their knowledge
with their colleagues across the company and the
industry through lunch and learn events, public
presentations, or by producing brief technical
guidancedocuments.
Morshed said that the goal is to highlight to the
trainee corrosion engineers that any balanced asset integrity
management system comprises both corrosion engineering
and corrosion management components.

Nitrite, mg/L

Fig. 2The heat exchanger tube bundle covered by

orangedeposits.

800
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0

0
01 010 010 010 010 010 010 010 010 011 011 011 011 011 011
1/2 5/2 23/2 10/2 /6/2 14/2 16/2 18/2 14/2 11/2 29/2 /3/2 /7/2 18/2 /1/2
3
/
5
4 4 4/
1 2/1 3/ 8/ 11 11/ 11/ 11/ 12/ 3/ 3/

Fig. 4The historical levels of nitrite residuals in the system.

Fig. 3Deep depressions visible on the heat exchanger tube

samples after cleaning.

If the amounts of TSS in the system are not kept

under control, TSS will eventually be deposited in the
low areas and dead legs, which can lead to interruption
of chemical treatment by preventing the inhibitor from
reaching thepipe wall (Herro and Port 1993) and promote
microbialunderdeposits.
Santuraki and Al-Sayed said that some of the iron was
mill scale, which was attributed to inadequate cleaning
during the commissioning stage of the system. Pieces of
wood chips and remains of welding rods were among the
debris recovered when the heat exchanger tube bundle was
pulled out. Cleaning activities, including the use of bag filters
and physical cleaning of the heat exchangers, were done to
reduce the iron and TSS to acceptable limits.
The authors microbial analyses showed consistently
high TBCs at 1 million colony-forming units (CFU)/mL
(Fig. 5). Pseudomonas spp., a slime-forming bacteria, was
also found. The authors found that the TBC in the system
had not been measured historically. Total coliform counts
were mistakenly measured. When the coliform counts were
repeatedly negative, biocide dosing was stopped. The dosing
was restarted when a new corrosion monitoring program
was introduced before the heat exchanger failure.
When the biocide injection was restarted, the system
volume was miscalculated, resulting in underdosing
of biocide (the total system volume was 30,000 m3, but
was miscalculated as 4,000 m3). The system volume was
measured when repeated biocide dosing was ineffective
in reducing the microbial levels to the threshold limit of
1,000 CFU/mL. At that time, a microbial analysis of the
fresh cooling water showed that the microbial population
comprised mainly Pseudomonas spp.

Contamination of the System

The analysis of the cooling water indicated the presence of

hydrocarbons, chlorides, and high dissolved oxygen levels.
It was later discovered that two extracted heat exchangers
were leaking and pumping a significant amount of oxygen

24

Oil and Gas Facilities April 2014

Total bacteria count, CFU/mL

1,000,000
100,000
10,000
1,000
100
10
1
11 11 11 1 1 11 11 11 1 11 11 11 1 11 11
/207/204/20 /201 /201 5/20 2/20 9/20 /201 2/20 9/206/20 /201 0/20 7/20
0
4/1 4/1 4/2 5/1 5/8 5/1 5/2 5/2 6/5 6/1 6/1 6/2 7/3 7/1 7/1

Fig. 5The historical levels of bacterial counts in the system.

into the cooling water system. It was also believed that several
hydrocarbon contaminations resulted from previous leakages
from heat exchangers.

Conclusions and
Recommended Practices

The findings in the case study highlighted contributing

factors in plant downtime; reduced heat transfer efficiency;
expensive equipment cleaning, inspection, and replacement;
and increased water and chemical usage.
Corrective actions included isolation of leaking heat
exchangers, cleaning and inspection of heat exchangers
plugged by slime or debris, system blowdown from low
points and dead legs, sidestream filtration, increased
nitrite residuals, biocide injection, and increased water
chemistrymonitoring.
The authors recommendations included
B
 efore commissioning, a closed loop cooling system
should be cleaned by flushing with service water,
especially at low points and dead legs, combined
with sidestream filtration to remove mill scale and
suspended solids. A high dose of nitrite can help to
form a stable passive film in the system. A high dose of
nonoxidizing biocide should be used, especially if the
system will be filled with water and left for extended
periods of time before the plant is fully commissioned.
F
 or proper treatment after commissioning, a nitrite
program, containing sodium nitrite as a corrosion
inhibitor for carbon steel, blended with azole for
yellow metal protection and sodium borate as a buffer
solution, is cost-effective.

 Maintain residual nitrite levels from 600 mg/L to

800mg/L at all times. If sulfate and chloride irons are
present in the water, the minimum nitrite residual
level should be at least five times the total of the
chloride and sulfate concentrations combined.
Regular biocide treatment is required, preferably
with the alternating use of two biocides to prevent
the microbes from becoming immune to a single
biocide over long-term use, to keep microbial levels
below 1,000 CFU/mL. Selection of biocides should be
based on laboratory screening using samples from the
fresh cooling water system. Biocides that are known

to promote foaming, such as older generations of

quaternary ammonium, should be avoided in closed
loop systems.
I mmediately upon opening the heat exchangers during
inspection, deposits and swab samples should be
collected and transported in a refrigerated container
overnight for laboratory bacteria analysis.
R
 egular monitoring of water parameters, such as
nitrite, pH, TSS, TBC, and iron, are required. When
TSS increase beyond a threshold value (depending on
the system), sidestream filtration is recommended for
cleaning the system. OGF

For Further Reading

Santuraki, M. and Al-Sayed, A.A. 2014. Improving
Reliability of Closed Loop Cooling Water Systems, A
Lessons Learnt Approach. NACE Paper 4291. In NACE
Corrosion 2014 Conference Proceedings, 913 March 2014,
San Antonio, Texas.

SPE International
Oilfield Corr
Conference and
Exhibition

Herro, H.M. and Port, R.D. 1993. The Nalco Guide to

Cooling-Water Systems Failure Analysis. Boston,
Massachusetts: McGraw-Hill.

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April 2014 Oil and Gas Facilities

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