Localized corrosion such as pitting, crevice and/or underdeposit corrosion is the main limiting factor in determining the set-vice life of equipment (such as carbon steel heat exchangers) in industrial water
systems. Because of the complexity and dynamic nature of industrial operations, as well as lack of effective monitoring tools, little systematic understanding on the impact of system conditions and process variations on localized corrosion and the inhibition performance profiles of the chemical treatments have been available. As a result, premature failure of equipment occurs, in spite of the use of a relatively large design safety factor. Recently, a localized corrosion monitor capable of on-line real time measurements of localized corrosion rates in industrial systems accurately and reliably was developed, This new monitor has enabled one to conduct performance (in terms of expected equipment service life) based online cooling water treatment optimization and control to minimize the damaging effects of process variations. It also permits one to gain a deeper understanding about localized corrosion, and facilitate the development of new inhibitors, treatment programs, and their application methodology to control and minimize localized corrosion. The new mechanistic understanding on the localized corrosion processes thus obtained have speeded up the development of new generations of localized corrosion inhibitors. New chemical treatments containing the new inhibitors were developed and evaluated. The petiormance of the new treatments against localized corrosion were fhrther optimized with the use of the new localized corrosion monitor both in the lab and in the field. Typical results obtained in several field
applications of the localized corrosion monitor in optimization and control of various cooling water treatment programs to minimize localized corrosion while still satisfying or exceeding other system performance requirements are described and discussed. The results serve to demonstrate how one can conduct treatment program optimization and control using the new real time localized corrosion monitor to meet the individual system needs, and to provide more precise and direct information about the treatment cost vs. performance. Keywords: carbon steel, cooling water, corrosion monitoring, crevice corrosion, heat exchanger, hydrocarbon leak detection, hydrogen permeation, inhibitor, localized corrosion, MIC, mild steel, on line measurement, pitting, service life, treatment optimization.