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Proper water chemistry controls are essential to maintaining reliable, efficient operation of the steam gener-
ating systems in ethylene plants. Ethylene plants usually have three steam generating systems; transfer line
exchangers, dilution steam generators and fired boilers. This paper will discuss the transfer line exchangers
although many of the same principles apply to the fired boilers as well.
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TP1201EN.docx Apr-14
There have been many designs of transfer line exchangers over the years. Many TLEs are shell and tube ex-
changers with water on the shell side and hot process gas in the tubes while others are tube within a tube
design. Some TLEs are horizontal bundles, many are vertical bundles.
Figure 3 - Vertical TLE, gas in the inner tube, water and steam
in the annulus between the inner and outer tube.
Fe + 2H2O Fe(OH)2 + H2
In high temperature boiler water, the ferrous hydroxide corrosion product further reacts with water to form a
magnetite layer on the tube surfaces.
It is this magnetite layer which protects the tube metal from further corrosion.
Figure 4 Boiler steel corrodes in water, but at high temperature the corrosion
products form a protective magnetite layer on the tube surface.
Figure 5 shows the relative corrosion of carbon steel in 310C (590F) water as a function of pH when the wa-
ter is contaminated by hydrochloric acid or sodium hydroxide. This data shows that the magnetite layer is
protective over a wide pH range. Consequently, very rarely is the bulk boiler water chemistry the cause of
significant equipment damage.
Figure 5 The relative corrosion of steel by HCl and NaOH at 310C (490F) is fairly low over a wide 25C pH range.1
1 Klein, H.A. Corrosion in High Pressure Boilers, Electricit de France and French, July 8, 1970
Figure 6 Heavy metal oxides present in the boiler feedwater tend to settle on or near the bottom tube
sheet. Circulating boiler water does not readily dilute the water beneath deposits. Consequently, when
these deposits are on the heat transfer surfaces, the water beneath the deposits concentrates by boiling re-
sulting in pH excursions which destroy the protective magnetite layer.
Figure 7 Caustic corrosion as result of high boiler water concentration beneath deposits.
What can a plant do if they will not always have the desired feedwater purity?
The ability to achieve the desired feedwater purity is often affected by system design and operating limita-
tions. For example, copper alloy surface condensers are often a part of ethylene plant steam-condensate
systems. To minimize copper alloy corrosion, the condensate pH should be less than 9.2, and the conden-
sate should be essentially free from oxygen. To minimize iron pick up from steel alloys, the condensate and
feedwater pH should be higher than 9.2 and a few ppb, for example 5 ppb, of oxygen should be present. As
a result, systems with both steel and copper components require compromises in the chemistry that are not
ideal for the protection of either one.
In addition to system metallurgy concerns, there can be numerous operating constraints in ethylene plants
which limit the ability to optimize feedwater purity at all times. Consequently, it is common practice in the
U.S. to feed phosphate to buffer the boiler water so that low level acidic or caustic contamination does not
cause large pH excursions when localized concentration occurs. Most commonly coordinated phosphate-pH
chemistry has been employed.
2 ASME CRTD-Vol. 34, Consensus on Operating Practices for the Control of Feedwater and Boiler Water Chemistry in Modern
Industrial Boilers, 1994
Figure 8 Concentration of phosphate chemistry beneath deposits near the inlet tube sheet led to acidic
phosphate corrosion of this TLE tube. It is usually impossible to visually differentiate between caustic corro-
sion and acid phosphate corrosion. Analyses of the deposits formed and a review of operating chemistry
are required to identify the cause of the corrosion.
Research at the University of Newfoundland3 found that the tendency for acid phosphate corrosion of the
normally protective magnetite layer increases with increasing phosphate levels and temperature and de-
creasing sodium to phosphate mole ratios. For example, they reported that for an equal molar mixture of
trisodium and disodium phosphate, it takes 8550 ppm of phosphate (PO4) to corrode the magnetite layer at
320C (608F) while at 360C (680F) it only takes 475 ppm.
3 Tremaine, Peter, et al, Phosphate Interactions with Metal Oxides Under High Performance Boiler Hideout Conditions, 54th In-
ternational Water Conference, Pittsburgh, PA, 1993
Page 6 Technical Paper
Since the boiler water in most TLEs is closer to 320C than 360C, one might think it would take several thou-
sand ppm of this mixture to corrode the magnetite layer. That would be true if the tube surface is clean and
has good contact with the circulating boiler water. However, in the presence of deposits or high heat flux
and marginal circulation the tube metal temperature can easily increase above that of the boiler water.
This research also found that the major corrosion product of acid phosphate attack was maricite, a sodium-
iron-phosphate compound (NaFePO4). They further noted that an ideal phosphate treatment would maintain
sodium to phosphate mole ratios high enough to avoid the formation of maricite. The minimum sodium to
phosphate mole ratios high enough to do this were determined to be 2.5 to 1.0 at 320C and 2.7 to 1.0 at
360C. This being the case, it is logical to conclude that acidic phosphate corrosion might be effectively con-
trolled by maintaining a minimum sodium to phosphate mole ratio of 2.8 to 1.0.
Table 1 - University of Newfoundland studies found three key factors that increase
the risk of acidic phosphate corrosion.
How can an operator tell if acidic phosphate hideout and corrosion may be a
problem before a failure occurs?
The answer is to monitor the phosphate and pH levels during changes in operating rate, such as when
switching from normal operation to the decoking cycle. The phosphate and pH levels should either stay the
same or if they change, they should both change in the same direction. That is if the phosphate increases as
it re-dissolves into the boiler water, the pH should also increase. If the phosphate increases and the pH de-
creases, that is a sign that acid phosphate hideout and corrosion has occurred.
Figure 9 - Phosphate increased and pH decreased whenever this boiler had a load reduction, a sign of acid
phosphate hideout and corrosion.
Figure 10 Compared to most other amines, a larger percentage of MEA stays in the boiler water to provide
some protection against acidic feedwater contamination. However, because amines are weak bases at high
temperature, cooled blowdown samples can give a false impression of the protection afforded when acidic
contaminants are encountered. In the boiler, the water becomes slightly acidic when 5 ppb of chloride (as
Cl) is present in the feedwater, even though the cooled blowdown sample pH is 9.27.
4 Bussert, Curran and Gould, GE, The Effect of Water Chemistry on the Reliability of Modern Large Steam Turbines, Journal of
Engineering for Power, July, 1979
As noted earlier, based on the University of Newfoundland study it is logical to assume that if a plant main-
tains the sodium to phosphate mole ratio equal to or in excess of 2.8 to 1.0 the risk of acid phosphate corro-
sion is greatly reduced. However, if the effect of the feedwater amine on the pH of the boiler water sample is
ignored, the sodium to phosphate ratio in the boiler water may be much lower than thought. Figure 12
shows the effect two different amine blends fed to maintain the feedwater pH at 9.0 can have on the boiler
water pH required to maintain a minimum sodium to phosphate mole ratio of 2.8 to 1.0.
Figure 11 To maintain an appropriate sodium to phosphate mole ratio in the boiler water when employing
a low level phosphate treatment, it is important to consider the impact of the feedwater amine on the boiler
water pH. This chart shows the effect of two different neutralizing amine blends fed to maintain the feedwa-
ter pH25C at 9.0 on the pH of a 2.8/1.0 sodium to phosphate molar ratio boiler water.
Summary
Reliable operation of transfer line exchangers requires high purity feedwater, an effective monitoring pro-
gram to quickly identify any deviation from feedwater purity requirements and an appropriate response to
any feedwater purity deviations encountered.
The use of dispersants to limit deposit accumulations and phosphate to limit pH excursions due to low level
feedwater contamination have proven beneficial in many plants. Some instances of acidic phosphate corro-
sion have led to lowering or eliminating boiler water phosphate levels in some plants. If less than 5 ppm of
phosphate is being maintained in the boiler water, it is important to account for the effect that the feedwater
amine has on the boiler water pH measurements when pH control limits are being established.
If free caustic is allowed in the boiler water, the continuous production of high purity steam becomes even
more critical to steam system reliability and should be monitored accordingly.