NACE 8X294

Abstract

<strong>Foreword</strong> <br>This NACE technical committee report summarizes results of laboratory tests and investigations of field and plant experience presented in various sources of the published literature pertaining to the cracking of steels in wet hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) service. Particular attention was devoted to the environmental, fabrication, and metallurgical parameters that play predominant roles in the cracking process. This technical committee report is an interpretational review of the literature. A bibliography is attached at the end of each section, and a reference list is also included at the end of the report, to assist readers who wish to seek further information. A table cross-referencing AISI,⁽¹⁾ ASTM,⁽²⁾ and UNS⁽³⁾ designations for materials in this report is given in Appendix A. <br>A review of this published literature appears to indicate that steels in refinery service have the potential to be subjected to conditions of hydrogen charging. These conditions result from the presence of H2S and possibly cyanide species in combination. <br>⁽¹⁾ American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), 1140 Connecticut Avenue, Suite 705, Washington, DC 20036. <br>⁽²⁾ ASTM International (ASTM), 100 Barr Harbor Drive, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959. <br>⁽³⁾ Unified Numbering System for Metals and Alloys (UNS). UNS numbers are listed in Metals & <em>Alloys in the Unified Numbering System</em>, 10^th ed. (Warrendale, PA: SAE International and West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM International, 2004).