Corrosion in geothermal environment: Part 1: Fluids and their impact

The geothermal power industry has reported a wide variety of corrosion problems. At least nine modes of corrosion were reported in this review from uniform corrosion to microbiologically induced corrosion (MIC). Varying degrees of uniform corrosion is most prevalent phenomena under any geothermal fluid condition and is mostly observed in carbon steel pipelines and equipment. Medium and high-strength carbon and alloy steels are susceptible to sulphide stress cracking under various conditions in geothermal fluid Erosion-corrosion occurs in the pipes for two phase flow transport which runs at high velocity. Designers of geothermal facilities and equipment need to properly match materials for any given type of geothermal resource fluid and process condition. Improper use of materials can lead to excessive corrosion damage that can result to catastrophic accidents and losses.