Process industries such as Oil, Gas and Petrochemical plants have boilers as part of the steam generating
system. A boiler is a complex and critical piece of equipment and its reliability is crucial to the entire
plant?s operation. Several components of boiler play a major role in contributing to its reliability and
performance. Of these, boiler tubes are considered, the most vulnerable component to corrosion in steam
generating units.
The corrosion concerns and the failure mode of boiler tubes can sometimes be unique to a plant and the
control of corrosion is made a challenging task due to several variables including the make-up water
chemistry, contaminants in the return steam condensate and effectiveness of the treatment program.
Therefore, periodic inspections, assessments and timely remedial actions are required to ensure safe and
reliable operation.