Newsletter - Issue II
(Spring 1998)
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1998 Spring Committee Meeting Minutes
Member Profile
Information Exchange Corner
Company Profile
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1998 Spring Committee Meeting Minutes
This year's annual dinner was another success. Approximately
25 members attended. 1998-1999 officers and overseas liaisons
were selected during the meeting. They are as follows:
Chairperson -- Fu Huang
Vice Chair -- Hui Yin
Secretary -- Joanna Hoang
China Liaison --Minxu Lu
Taiwan Liaison -- Peter Chen
The purposes of the organization are to promote fellowship among
Chinese corrosion and materials engineers, exchange information
and technology, and explore employment and business opportunities
for members. The current member directory is attached to this newsletter.
You may obtain an electronic version of the directory by sending
the editor a request via email. The Chinese typesetting can be viewed
using Big 5 or by downloading the AsiaView from Twinbridge. Any
changes or updates on member information should be forwarded to
the Secretary.
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Member Profile
Dr. George Lai
Dr. George Lai is an authority in the field of high temperature
materials and has been active in many NACE activities. In an effort
to promote networking, he founded the Chinese American Association
of Corrosion & Materials Engineers in 1996. He was the president
of the association in 1996 and 1997.
Dr. Lai has had 20+ years of industrial experience in dealing
with materials problems in major processes and systems in a variety
of industries, such as, power generation, gas turbine, waste incineration,
industrial heating, chemical and petrochemical processing, petroleum
refining, and primary metals production.
George is the author of High Temperature Corrosion of Engineering
Alloys, a reference book widely used by engineers as well as materials
and corrosion consultants worldwide. He also holds five US patents
and has authored about 90 technical papers and co-edited three
technical proceedings books.
George is the Market Development Manager at Welding Services,
Inc. headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, since November 1996. Prior
to his joining Welding Services, he had been with Haynes International,
Inc., for 16 years, holding various positions including Market
Development Manager with the Marketing Group and Manager of High
Temperature Alloys with the Technology Department. Haynes International
is a leading superalloy producer. In addition, he had been with
General Atomics for six years and with the University of California
at Berkeley as Postdoctoral Fellow for two years.
George graduated from Taipei Institute of Technology at Taipei,
Taiwan, and received his M.S. from Virginia Polytechnic Institute
and his Ph.D. from North Carolina State University at Raleigh.
He is an ASM Fellow and a member of NACE and ASM.
Mrs. Lai is a molecular biologist with a Ph.D. from Temple University
in Philadelphia. She is a senior scientist doing cancer research
at Eli Lilly. She is an alumna of Tung Hai University in Taiwan.
Their daughter, Christine, is currently working for Sanford Bernstine
Co., a Wall Street investment firm, in New York City. She graduated
from Columbia University in 1995.
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Information Exchange Corner
Crude Unit Overhead Corrosion
(by Joanna Hoang)
Crude tower overhead corrosion is mainly divided into two categories:
Attack by acidic species at initial condensation point, and
Salt corrosion caused by amine hydrochloride salt and/or ammonium
chloride salt.
Of all the acidic species, HCl represents the most aggressive
acid for corrosion. Adequate neutralization of HCl is critical to
effectively elevate the water dew point region pH to within the
same control range as the accumulator water. High concentrations
of organic acids have also been identified within the water dew
point region. Corrosion caused by these acidic species can be controlled
by neutralizing the overhead water to a neutral pH range. Typically,
this pH range is between 5.5 to 7 pH, depending on the unit operation
condition (such as sour vs. sweet unit).
In addition, a suitable filming inhibitor is injected into the
overhead system to form a monomolecular film on the metal surface
which makes it resistant to acidic attack. A continuous filming
inhibitor injection is maintained to constantly replenish the
film formation on the metal surfaces which is periodically destroyed
from acidic attack.
Ammonia is often used for crude overhead pH control because of
its low cost and strong neutralizing ability. However, two major
disadvantages are its inability to reliably control pH within
the water dew point region and undesirable salt characteristics.
It is always recommended that with the use of ammonia for pH control,
a suitable water wash system be employed. A preferable alternative
is the use of a blended neutralizer product. Ammonia or neutralizer
is typically added to the overhead vapor line to neutralize the
various acid species and control accumulator pH within control
range. Addition of ammonia or neutralizer to the top reflux or
base of the atmospheric column can cause fouling and corrosion
to top trays, downcomers, piping, etc. due to ammonium chloride
or amine chloride salt formation.
The selection of a neutralizer is an important issue as it may
cause more problems if not selected properly. The selection criteria
should include low salt deposition potential, good initial condensate
point protection, pH buffering, low H2S reactivity, relative volatility
for distillation, etc. Each of these product capabilities varies
in importance, depending upon the system application. The appropriate
neutralizer product can be selected based on the type and concentrations
of corrodents present and neutralizer injection location. If the
neutralizer is not selected appropriately, an amine chloride salt
may actually form prior to the initial condensation point and
cause underdeposit corrosion.
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Company Profile
BetzDearborn
The 1998 Annual Meeting and Technical Conference of the Corrosion
Engineering Association of the Republic of China was successfully
held on September 10 to 11 in a country club near Hsinchu City,
Taiwan. This year's meeting was cosponsored by Materials Research
Laboratories, National Central University, Lih Kang Industrial
Company, Taiwan Galvanizing Company, and National Science Council
of Executive Yuan. More than 120 members attended the conference,
and 40 papers were presented covering all aspects of corrosion
problems and anti-corrosion techniques. Owing to the awareness
of the increasing impact of pipeline corrosion, an invited talk
of "Corrosion Management of Buried Pipelines" had caught
members' high attention and intensive discussion. After a pleasant
and bountiful banquet, a laughter- abundant bingo game stress-relieved
the attendants and brought everyone a cheerful moment.
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