Corrosion inhibitors produced in oil wells

Researchers of Amirkabir University of Technology managed to produce corrosion inhibitors in petroleum pipelines through conducting a research project.

Seyed Mohammadreza Shoja’, a PhD student of Amirkabir University of Technology and executive manager of the project "Synthesis, identification and performance evaluation of hybrid metal-organic frameworks with ionic liquids as corrosion inhibitors in the petroleum industry" which he carried out under the supervision of Dr. Abdous, a faculty member of Amirkabir University of Technology, said: “Fuel supply is one of the basic issues of every country and its cheap and reliable transportation is a matter to be considered.”

He added: “One of the fast, reliable and continuous ways to transfer fuel (petroleum and gas) is to use piping, and in this method we face a phenomenon called corrosion. Corrosion is one of the major problems in the petroleum and gas industry, and due to corrosion, leakage of fuel from pipes and their repair and reconstruction by traditional ways, we will have a lot of environmental damage in addition to spending a lot of time and money.”

Shoja’ clarified: “The main and final goal of this research was to prevent corrosion in the petroleum industry, especially in petroleum transmission pipes, by using appropriate inhibitory materials.”

This researcher added: “In this research, for the first time, we used new ionic liquids with minimal database (as green corrosion inhibitors), metal-organic structures and slow release of the inhibitor material over time to improve the corrosion condition of petroleum transmission pipes.”

According to him, the results of this project can be used in various industries, including the petroleum industry.

He said: “Using these liquids as hybrid green corrosion inhibitors with metal-organic frameworks and investigating the slow release process of the inhibitors was another aspect of the project's innovation.”

The graduate of Amirkabir University of Technology continued by stating the features of the project: “Among the features of this project are the synthesis and identification of new ionic liquids, use of metal-organic frameworks as inhibitor aids and holders for corrosion inhibitors, and investigation of the process of slow release of the inhibitors from within the metal-organic frameworks over time.”

Shoja’ pointed out: “For the first time, this type of ionic liquid synthesized in the laboratory with high purity was used as a green corrosion inhibitor in the slow release process of the inhibitor in the aqueous environment.”

Referring to the competitive advantages of the project, he said: “The use of green corrosion inhibitors compared to chemical inhibitors, and the novelty of the idea of using metal-organic frameworks in the slow release process of corrosion inhibitors in the water environment are among the advantages of this project.”