Elemental sulfur is often produced by sour gas wells and carried by the sour gas during
the production and transportation. When temperatures and pressures change, sulfur may first
precipitate out from the sour gas and then deposit on the production tubing or pipeline wall.
Sulfur deposition can significantly affect the production by blocking the production tubing. In
the presence of water, sulfur can also lead to a catastrophic corrosion problem. Applying the
combination of sulfur solvent and corrosion inhibitor to the gas production is the most common
way to mitigate the blockage and corrosion problems caused by sulfur deposition.
The objective of this project is to develop and evaluate the testing protocol for screening
the elemental sulfur solvent and sulfur corrosion inhibitor. In this project, two sulfur solvents
(SA and SC) and two corrosion inhibitors (CIB1 and CIB2) were investigated. All tests were
conducted in autoclaves. Solvent efficiency was studied first, followed with the corrosion study.
In the corrosion study, the steel surfaces with or without direct contact with sulfur were both
simulated by putting an under-deposit specimen covered with sulfur on the bottom of the
autoclave, and an electrochemical electrode not in contact with sulfur, directly above the
under-deposit specimen. The experimental results suggest that the test apparatus and newly
developed test protocol were proven to be able to screen the elemental sulfur solvent and
sulfur corrosion inhibitor.
Keywords: Elemental sulfur, deposition, corrosion, sulfur solvent, sulfur corrosion inhibitor,
testing protocol, under-deposit.