A case study of soil-side corrosion of aboveground storage tanks in the middle east

Hanan Farhat*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

Soil-side corrosion of the bottom plates of aboveground storage tanks is the main cause of tank failure in 90% of the storage tanks in the Middle East. Chemical and topographical analysis of the soil revealed high salt content and sinkholes that lead to porous soil structure that is not stable. A case study is discussed in this paper, in which failures of three storage tanks were investigated. In the three cases, the soil analysis revealed high salt content and low resistivity. The soil was ranked in the extremely corrosive region. Impressed Current Cathodic Protection (ICCP) doesn't provide the necessary protection for these tanks. Analysis of the corrosion scale on the tank bottoms were conducted using X-Ray Diffraction Spectroscopy (XRD), X-Ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy (XRF), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (EDS). It is believed that the corrosion scale on the bottom of the tanks, as well as the presence of voids in the soil prevented the ICCP from providing the necessary protection to the tank bottoms.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationCorrosion Conference and Expo 2018
PublisherNational Assoc. of Corrosion Engineers International
ISBN (Print)9781510864405
Publication statusPublished - 2018
Externally publishedYes
EventCorrosion Conference and Expo 2018 - Phoenix, United States
Duration: 15 Apr 201819 Apr 2018

Publication series

NameNACE - International Corrosion Conference Series
Volume2018-April
ISSN (Print)0361-4409

Conference

ConferenceCorrosion Conference and Expo 2018
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityPhoenix
Period15/04/1819/04/18

Keywords

  • Aboveground storage tanks
  • ICCP
  • Impressed current cathodic protection
  • Soil-side corrosion

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