The NACE International Task Group T-8-16 conducted an organized study on the cracking of refinery pressure vessels operating in wet H2S service. One of the products of this effort was NACE Standard RP0296,
“Guidelines for the Detection, Repair, and Mitigation of Cracking of Existing Petroleum Refinery Pressure Vessels in Wet H2S Environments.” The NACE Standard defines terms used to describe cracks that can occur in wet H2S service, determines the frequency and severity of cracking at a point in time by means of an industry survey, outlines inspection methods and repair procedures, and discusses mitigation considerations. This paper gives an overview of each of these
topics. This paper also discusses activities of the Task Group undertaken since the publication of the NACE Standard.
Keywords: wet H2S, pressure vessel, hydrogen-induced cracking, HIC, stress-oriented hydrogen induced cracking, SOHIC, hydrogen blistering, alkaline stress corrosion cracking, AS CC.