What Does
Amine Mean?
Amines are organic compounds that contain a lone pair nitrogen atom. They are derived from ammonia by substituting of one or more hydrogen atoms by organic groups like an alkyl or aryl group. So amines are derivatives of ammonia.
Amines are used in dyes, drugs, gas treatment and corrosion inhibitors. Various amines are used with different operating conditions and limits in varied industry. H2S and CO2 from feed gases are absorbed into the amine solvent by a chemical reaction, which causes amine corrosion in refinery and gas processing circuits.
Corrosionpedia Explains Amine
Amines are bases and nitrogen-containing organic compounds. Amine causes corrosion known as amine corrosion. It refers to a type of localized corrosion that happens primarily on carbon steel in amine-treating processes. Amine itself is not the cause of corrosion. This corrosion has originated from dissolved gases (like CO2 and H2S), amine degradation products, Heat stable amine salts (HSAS) and other contaminants. Amine corrosion depends on many things like:
- Design and operating practices
- The type of amine
- Amine concentration
- Contaminants
- Temperature and velocity
The presence of some compounds such as ammonia, H2S and HCN aggravate the corrosion situation in the many parts of the plants. It can damage condenser and outlet piping as well as reflux piping, valves and pumps of processing plants.
Corrosion rates and temperature are directly proportional, specially in rich amine services. High temperatures result in acid gas flashing and severe localized corrosion when pressure drop is also high. Though amine corrosion is usually uniform, high velocities and turbulence will causes losses of localized thickness.
Amine cracking is also important in stress-corrosion cracking. It is related to alkaline and carbonates stress-corrosion cracking. This cracking generally happens on the surface, and the cracks are normally radially projected from set-on nozzles. This crack can easily be easily found through a nondestructive examination (NDE) method.