Reactivity of polyester aliphatic amine surfactants as corrosion inhibitors for carbon steel in formation water (deep well water)

Effect of different concentrations, 40–200 ppm, of various polyester aliphatic amine surfactants on inhibition of the corrosion of carbon steel in the formation water (deep well water) was investigated. These surfactants exhibit different levels of inhibition particularly at high concentration (200 ppm). Inhibition efficiencies in the range 86–96% were determined by weight loss method. Comparable results were obtained from electrochemical measurements using Tafel extrapolation and polarisation resistance methods. It was shown that all the investigated surfactants act primarily as anodic inhibitors; however, they also affect the rate and mechanism of the cathodic reaction. These compounds function via adsorption on reactive sites on the corroding surface reducing the corrosion rate of the metal. It was revealed that the adsorption of these surfactants obey Langmuir adsorption isotherm. The inhibition effectiveness increases with the length of the aliphatic hydrocarbon chain, being a maximum in the presence of surfactant IV (∼96% efficiency). The corrosion inhibition feature of this compound is attributed to the presence of a long hydrocarbon chain that ensures large surface coverage as well as the presence of multiple active centers for adsorption. Scanning electron microscopy, SEM, has been applied to identify the surface morphology of carbon steel alloy in the absence and presence of the inhibitor molecules.