Corrosion behavior of materials in hydrogen sulfide abatement system at Hellisheiði geothermal power plant

Corrosion tests were conducted in a gas-separation tower of a H2S abatement system at Hellisheiði power plant in Iceland. The susceptibility to uniform corrosion and environmentally assisted cracking of several materials were investigated, including the main construction material of the abatement system i.e., the austenitic stainless steel UNS S31603. The results show that the UNS S31603 and UNS S31803 showed no signs of corrosion damage while UNS S30403 experienced environmentally assisted cracking most likely in the form of stress corrosion cracking. The carbon steel S235JR tested was severely damaged by hydrogen induced cracking, and uniform corrosion.