RIASSUNTO
Abstract
From time immemorial, corrosion in the offshore environment of the oil and gas industry has consistently plagued smooth operations by introducing huge costs of corrosion control and non-productive time. The corrosion effect is even more pronounced on Deepwater structures such as pipelines, hull decks, handrails, gangways and so on, due to harsh marine environmental exposure. Due to the deteriorating effect of corrosion, the amount spent on surface protection could range from thousand to millions of dollars depending on the extent of corrosion damage. Apart from the repair costs, some of the offshore operations are entirely shutdown before commencement of corrosion control measures which contributes to production downtime and unscheduled volume loss. In this paper, a composite material is presented that is corrosion resistant and can withstand the expected pressure and temperature conditions in the offshore environment. This material extrudes from a specially designed machine that takes wood and plastic wastes as feedstocks in appropriate ratios depending on the area of application on the facility. Upon laboratory analysis, this material has a melting point of 400degF (204degC), and load testing also revealed that at typical offshore condition of pressure ≅ 50bars and at about 100degC, this material would be very suitable for corrosion control. Furthermore, from an economic standpoint, this composite material is extremely cheaper with a cost of 300 USD per foot of pipeline coating compared to about 2000 USD cost using conventional corrosion control materials. In addition, with the implementation of this process, we have realized that negative environmental contribution of plastic wastes to greenhouse gases (GHGs) will be greatly mitigated, reducing the overall levels to about 10%. In conclusion, a cost effective and an environmentally friendly corrosion protection composite wrap has been developed by recycling wood and plastics wastes.