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How Does Black Liquor Corrosivity Change with decreasing REA
Matthew Tunnicliffe
Research Scientist
Corrosion and Thermochemical Processes
604‐222‐5203
Matthew.Tunnicliffe@fpinnovations.ca
Victor Padilla
Manager
Corrosion and Thermochemical Processes
604‐222‐5725
Victor.Padilla@fpinnovations.ca
Abstract
Reducing the Effective Alkali (EA) targets in the continuous kraft digesters can reduce white liquor consumption,
increase pulp yield, and decrease the load in the chemical recovery line. It is not certain whether this will have a
negative effect on carbon steels assets, and therefore there are concerns with unpredictable rates of corrosion.
The objective of the work is to measure the impact of reducing REA on the corrosion of carbon steel in both
hardwood and softwood liquors using potentiodynamic (PDP), open circuit potential (OCP), and five day
immersion studies in laboratory autoclaves. The REA in our studies ranged from 2 g/L to over 10 g/L as Na2O
and were adjusted using weak sulphuric acid or caustic. The results of this work show that the corrosion rate of
carbon steel in hardwood liquor was low and independent of REA, whereas carbon steel in softwood liquors
generally increased with decreasing REA. This work provides insight for mill operations to consider with respect
to liquor corrosivity and how one may manage process changes without an increase in risk to fixed equipment
Introduction
There are many reasons why mill managers and mill engineers would be interested in reducing the EA targets of
black liquor in a digester. The mill manager may see this as an opportunity to debottleneck their process,
whereas the mill engineer could see this as a way to increase pulping yield and offload the recovery circuit.
Those at the mill who purchase makeup chemical would benefit by reducing white liquor consumption by
economics. Furthermore; purchasing less chemical makeup reduces the chance of further non‐process elements
entering the black liquor loop. Reducing EA targets in the continuous kraft digesters offers several benefits.
However, in order to achieve any possible savings, one needs to consider the effect of reducing EA on the
corrosion of carbon steel equipment. As such it is important to perform a systematic study with samples
obtained directly from the process to ensure that the critical residual effective alkali (REA) measurement
considers the effect of the mill specific liquor chemistries.
The complexity of kraft liquors
The kraft cooking liquor is a mixture of white liquor, water entrained in chips, condensed steam, and weak black
liquor used to adjust the liquor to wood ratio. It is strongly alkaline solution (~pH 14), in which the active species
are NaOH and Na2S and to a lesser extent Na2CO3.[1] Furthermore; each liquor has its own host of organic
constituents that may influence liquor corrosivity.
The variables most commonly studied with respect to the corrosion of steel in black liquor are alkali content,
sulphidity, percent solids, and temperature. Generally, the corrosion rate increases with higher sulphidity,
temperature and percent solids. Corrosion rate decreases with higher alkali content.[2]–[5] However, we have
observed that black liquor temperatures, sulphidity and caustic contents of liquor can be comparable at kraft
mills across North America, yet not all mills experience liquor corrosion issues.[6] Specific extractives from the
wood chips being pulped play a role in producing corrosive black liquor.
The change in liquor corrosivity is often attributed to the presence of organics found in the process.[7] Studies
have shown that pulping softwood species are more corrosive to carbon steel than hardwood species due to the
differences in extractive compounds.[5],[8],[9] Extractives like catechol act as chelates, and form a complex with
iron that are stable in alkaline solutions inhibiting the passivation behavior of carbon steel. Catechol derivatives,
thujaplicins, pyrogallol, pinene, and taxifolin have also been observed to behave as corrosive agents.[7],[8]
Generally, the presence of catechol and tannic acid inhibits carbon steels ability to form a passive corrosion
product in alkaline environments representative of weak black liquor. [10]
Objective
Because of the black liquor complexity mentioned above, it is important to perform a systematic study with
samples obtained directly from the process to ensure that the critical REA measurement considers the effect of
specific liquor chemistries. In order for the aforementioned potential benefits of reducing REA to be meaningful,
it is important to ensure that a critical value for EA is established. The critical EA is herein defined as the
minimum EA that can be safely used in the digester without accelerating corrosion.
The objective of the work is to measure the impact of reducing EA on the corrosion of carbon steel in both
hardwood and softwood liquors. Sulphide levels were kept relatively constant to produce conservative results.
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Corrosion tests were performed down to an REA of 2 (g/L as Na2O). The sulphide levels were adjusted to match
the mill as‐received liquors. This work provides insights to mills operations on opportunities to manage process
changes without an increase exposure to corrosion of critical process equipment.
Experimental
All experiments were performed in a stainless steel autoclave fitted with a laboratory‐built pressure balanced
silver‐silver chloride (Ag/AgCl) 3.5M KCl reference electrode, graphite counter electrode, and A516 grade 70
carbon steel cylindrical working electrode (WE). The chemical composition of the carbon steel is given in Table 1.
The WE surface were ground to 600 grit with SiC paper prior to each test for the open circuit potential (OCP) and
potentiodynamic (PDP) test, whereas the disc shaped coupons were ground to 120 grit with SiC paper prior to
disc immersion. All tests were run at 150°C ± 2 in an autoclave using an electric heater. All samples were
cleaned off with ethyl alcohol and dried prior to immersion in the test solution.
Table 1. Chemical composition of test coupons
Black liquor samples were obtained from three different mills from the digester extraction or wash recirculation
line. The three mills pulp furnishes varied from single species hardwood, single species softwood, or a blend of
the two. Table 2 outlines the non‐coastal mill locations, pulp furnish, as received REA, sampling location within
the digester, and the rate of carbon steel corrosion in laboratory immersion experiments using as received
liquor. The REA of the black liquor samples were adjusted as needed by the test matrix by mixing weak sulphuric
acid or caustic to the black liquor samples received from the three mills and re‐titrating the new liquor sample.
Generally, this report targeted a range of REA from 2 to 10 g/L for each liquor sample.
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Table 2. Black liquor samples were obtained from three mills
Mill A Mill A
Mill B Softwood Mill C Hardwood Mill C Softwood
Hardwood Softwood
Trembling Hemlock, Cedar, Fir, Spruce, Jack pine,
Pulp furnish Aspen, Black Jack Pine Larch Spruce, Trembling aspen and trace balsam
Poplar Balsam, Pine fir
Upper extraction line Extraction line
Sample
Extraction line / /
location
lower extraction lines Wash line
Liquor REA as 14.1 8.1 4.5
received (g/L 8.2 7.6 / / /
as Na2O) 8.6 14.1 2.0
Corrosion rate
of Carbon 6.9 0.05 13.4
steel in as 4.1 27.7 / / /
received 4.6 0.02 0.74
liquor (mpy)
Immersion testing was used to assess the short term mass loss of carbon steel in mill liquors and assist in
identifying the REA limits. The coupons were ground to a 120 grit surface finish and weighed to the nearest
hundred thousandth of a gram. The coupons were then left in the autoclave for 120 hours at 150°C in 800 mL of
black liquor. When the coupons were removed from the cell, they were acid cleaned using inhibited
hydrochloric acid and reweighed to calculate a corrosion rate in mils per year (mpy), as outlined in ASTM
Standard Method G1.[12]
Results
Electrochemical results
Prior to each potentio‐dynamic polarization (PDP) sweep, the carbon steel samples were held at ‐1300 mVAg/AgCl
while the black liquor was introduced to the autoclave and heated. This was done to remove corrosion product
that may have formed as a result of being exposed to air or from the alkaline sulphide due to the delays
introduced by the heating. Once the autoclave reached the desired temperature, the PDP scan was performed
from ‐1300 mVAg/AgCl to ‐500 mVAg/AgCl at a scan rate of 0.167mV.s‐1. Each experiment was performed using a
fresh 800mL liquor sample and resurfaced working electrodes.
Previous work has been helpful to identity a critical potential for carbon steel in alkaline sulphide
environment.[9] When carbon steel stabilizes above this critical potential, passivation of carbon steel and low
rates of corrosion would be anticipated. Conversely, high rates of corrosion would be anticipated when the
potential of carbon steel falls below this critical potential. Generally, this critical potential corresponds to ‐900
mVAg/AgCl; however specific liquor chemistries might shift this peak and careful interpretation of each PDP curve
is needed.[10]
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Mill A Softwood and Hardwood Lower Extraction Liquor
Figure 1 and Figure 2 shows the OPC and PDP curves for the electrochemical behaviour of carbon steel exposed
to hardwood and softwood extraction liquors from mill A.
In Figure 1a, the OCP of carbon steel in the mill A hardwood extraction liquor was generally stable over 5 hours
at potentials anodic to ‐900mVAg/AgCl (the formation of Fe3O4) in all REA tests. This suggests that carbon steel
formed a protective film for all of the tested REA. When looking at the PDP curves in Figure 1b, it is possible to
see an increase in current density as the REA is decreased. The behaviour of the carbon steel when exposed to
the as‐received liquor (REA of 8.2) is in good agreement with the typical behavior of carbon steel exposed to
black liquor presented in an earlier study.[10] The current peaks observed correspond to the formation of FeS
(location A), Fe3O4 (location B), and the oxidation of sulfur compounds from within the corrosion product
(location C). However, these peaks become less apparent when the REA was modified; which indicates that
other reactions may dominate the electrochemical behaviour of carbon steel.
Conversely, in Figure 2a the OCP of carbon steel in mill A softwood extraction liquor showed less stable
behaviour than carbon steel in the hardwood extraction liquor. With the exception of the REA 1.1 experiment
the OCP remained at or below ~ ‐900mVAg/AgCl for the majority of the 24 hour period (not shown) where higher
corrosion rates of corrosion would be theoretically possible. When looking the PDP curves in Figure 2b, there
was a general increase in corrosion current density and the disappearance of the anticipated current peaks.
Nevertheless, the corrosion current density when exposed to the softwood liquor was higher than when
exposed to the hardwood liquors for all of the tested REA as compared to Figure 1b.
b)
a)
C
B
A
Figure 1. Mill A: OCP and PDP curves of carbon steel when exposed to hardwood extraction liquor with changing REA at
150°C
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a) b)
Figure 2. Mill A: Carbon steel OCP and PDP curves when exposed to softwood extraction liquor with changing REA at
150°C
Mill B Upper and Lower Softwood extraction Liquor
Figure 3 and Figure 4 shows the OCP and PDP curves for the electrochemical behaviour of carbon steel exposed
to upper and lower softwood extraction liquors from mill B. In general, the PDP curves of carbon steel in mill B
are shifted to higher current densities when compared with the other mill liquors tested. The OCP in Figure 3a
readings revealed a shift towards more anodic potentials with a decrease in REA. This shift has been attributed
to the formation of a protective film free of sulphur impurities, however the OCP readings also showed
fluctuations (REA 2.2 experiment) that may indicate instability of the corrosion product.[11] Similar observations
were made when carbon steel was exposed to REA 4.4, and 8.6 after longer OCP exposures. Figure 3b shows
that upon decreasing the REA of the lower extraction liquor the PDP curve remained at high current densities
and electrochemical noise became apparent between ‐1000mV and ‐800 mV. However, upon decreasing the
REA of these liquors further, the PDP of the lower extraction liquor better revealed the oxidation of sulphur at ‐
800mV and the anodic peaks at lower potentials were less visible.
a) b)
Figure 3. Mill B: Carbon steel OCP and PDP curves when exposed to lower extraction softwood liquor
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The results for the upper extraction liquor shown in Figure 4 are in good agreement with the results from the
lower extraction liquor. Decreasing the REA generally shifted the OCP to more anodic potential (Figure 4a). The
decrease in REA generally shifts the PDP curves to lower current densities (Figure 4b). Similar to the lower
extraction liquor, the lowest current density was observed for the REA value of 4.6.
The behaviour observed in the liquors from Mill B suggests the formation of a protective film in the first 5 hours
of OCP experiments decreasing the REA. It is not clear how lowering the REA caused this effect, and more work
is needed to elucidate the cause.
a) b)
Figure 4. Mill B: Carbon steel OCP and PDP curves when immersed in upper extraction liquor at 150°C
Mill C Hardwood and softwood extraction Liquor
Figure 5 and Figure 6 shows the OCP and PDP curves for the electrochemical behaviour of carbon steel exposed
to hardwood and softwood extraction liquors from mill C.
The OCP values depicted in Figure 5a show that there is little change in the potential of carbon steel when
exposed to hardwood liquors, even when the REA is decreased over 24 hours (only 5 hours shown). The OCP
values are constant and anodic to ‐900mVAg/AgCl which corresponds to where the formation of Fe3O4 should form
as a protective film. This is in good agreement with the hardwood results from mill A. Figure 5b shows that
decreasing the REA shifts the PDP graphs to lower current densities, and Ecorr becomes more anodic. This is in
agreement with the previous results.
In contrast, Figure 6 shows the electrochemical performance of carbon steel when exposed to softwood liquors.
The OCP values in Figure 6a, while initially high, drop after a few hours below ‐900mVAg/AgCl in all the tests longer
than 8 hour. This drop in OCP suggest that carbon steel is not able to form a protective and tenacious protective
film when exposed to these liquors and appears to be independent of REA.
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a) b)
Figure 5. Mill C: Carbon steel OCP and PDP curves when immersed in hardwood extraction liquor at 150°C
a) b)
Figure 6. Mill C: Carbon steel OCP and PDP curves when immersed in softwood extraction liquor at 150°C
Mill C Hardwood and Softwood Wash liquor
Figure 7 and Figure 8 shows the OCP and PDP curves for the electrochemical behaviour of carbon steel exposed
to hardwood and softwood wash liquors from mill C. The results are in agreement with the results seen on the
Mill C extraction liquors. The OCP values depicted in Figure 7a show that the protective film formed by carbon
steel is stable for all tested REAs. However, in contrast, Figure 7b shows that decreasing the REA shifts the PDP
graphs to higher current densities, indicating faster reaction kinetics. The Ecorr values observed in Figure 7b
become more anodic as REA decreases; which is in good agreement with the OCP values observed in Figure 7a.
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Figure 7. Mill C: Carbon steel OCP and PDP curves when immersed in hardwood wash liquor at 150°C
Figure 8 shows the electrochemical performance of carbon steel when exposed to softwood wash liquors. The
OCP values in Figure 8a stabilized in potentials anodic to ‐900mVAg/AgCl after a couple of hours in all REA tests.
This behaviour suggest that carbon steel is able to form a protective and tenacious protective film when exposed
to these liquors and time to stabilize may be a function of REA. When looking at the PDP curves in Figure 8b, it is
possible to see an increase in current density as the REA is decreased. This also suggest an increase in reaction
kinetics which could explain the seemingly faster formation of a protective film observed in Figure 8a.
Figure 8. Mill C: Carbon steel OCP and PDP curves when immersed in softwood wash liquor at 150 °C
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Immersion tests results
Figure 9 shows the corrosion rates for carbon steel after immersion in black liquor samples for 120 hours at 150
°C. Generally a corrosion rate of less than 5 mpy is considered acceptable. To put this value in perspective: with
a corrosion rate equal or lower to 5 mpy, one could expect a life of 50 years or greater for equipment with 0.25
inch (6.3 mm) corrosion allowance, assuming general corrosion is the predominant damage mode. The 5 mpy
limit is indicated in Figure 9 with a dashed red line.
The results shown in Figure 9 suggest that there is no clear correlation between corrosion rate and REA, with the
exception for the softwood extraction liquors for mill A and C. Similarly, for hardwood liquors, the corrosion rate
remained relatively low for all tested liquors and different REA levels.
Figure 9. Corrosion rates for carbon steel after immersion in black liquor samples for 120 hours at 150 °C all mills A, B,
and C
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Conclusions
The work done confirmed previous experimental results and empirical data on the relative corrosivity of pulp
furnish. Hardwood is less corrosive than softwood under laboratory conditions. Only Mill A hardwood extraction
black liquor corroded carbon steel at a rate exceeding 5 mpy. This is attributed to the presence of extractives
that act as chelates that disturb the protective passive film in carbon steel.
OCP testing revealed stable behaviour of carbon steel in hardwood liquors. Oscillations appeared in softwood
liquors in longer term studies not displayed in this report. The presence of oscillations generally resulted in
moderate to high rates of corrosion. The highest measured corrosion rate of carbon steel when OCP oscillations
were present was greater than 40 mpy; while the lowest corrosion rates produced from a liquor known to
produce oscillations was 6 mpy. As expected, the hardwood liquors did not produced potential oscillations;
which suggest the formation a stable corrosion product. Decreasing REA generally increased the OCP values.
The potentiodynamic tests were in good agreement with the OCP measurements, and the results were in
agreement with the expected behaviour of carbon steel exposed to hardwood and softwood liquor. However,
no strong conclusions can be drawn on the effect of reducing REA on the corrosion current density or the
reaction kinetics. More work is needed to understand the effect of reducing REA on the electrochemical
behaviour of carbon steel, and perhaps other electrochemical methods should be explored.
The immersion test results showed that there is no correlation between corrosion rate and change in REA. For
hardwood liquors, the corrosion rate remained relatively low for all tested liquors and different REA levels. With
the exception for the softwood extraction liquors for mill A and C, there was no significant change in corrosion
rate with decreasing REA. This suggest that there is an opportunity to carefully reduce the EA targets of black
liquor in a digester. This could possibly help debottleneck the chemical recovery process, and increase pulping
yield. Additionally, this would translate to a reduction of white liquor consumption, and conversely a reduction
in the amount of non‐process elements that are introduced with these purchases. Reducing EA targets in the
continuous kraft digesters offers several benefits.
It is highly recommended to approach this change with caution, and implement an online corrosion monitoring
program at the mill to measure the effect of reducing the REA real time. Transient conditions are hard to
replicate in the laboratory, and for those mills that pulp both hardwood and softwood species, there might be
an important effect that was not considered in this study during a species transition.
References
[1] J. Gullichsen and C.‐J. Fogelholm, Papermaking Science and Technology ‐ Chemical Pulping, vol. 6A. Fapet
Oy, 1999.
[2] R. G. Kelly, P.J. Ambrose, R. C. Wilson, K. A. Jefferies, and S. Kannan, “Results of corrosion coupon
exposures of ferrous materials in black liquor,” TAPPI J., vol. 79, no. 11, pp. 148–154, 1996.
[3] A. Wensley and D. Christie, “Corrosion of Evaporators,” in Engineering, Pulping, & Environmental
Conference, 2005.
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[4] A. Wensley and P. Champagne, “Effect of sulfidity on the corrosivity of white green and black liquors,” in
CORROSION, 1999.
[5] A. Wensley, “Corrosion of Batch and Continuous Digesters,” in The International Symposium on
Corrosion in the Pulp and Paper Industry, 1998, no. 1.
[6] A. Wensley, “Corrosion testing in evaporator liquors,” in Corrosion, 2006, no. 06242, pp. 1–19.
[7] P. M. Singh and A. Anaya, “Effect of wood species on corrosion behavior of carbon steel and stainless
steels in black liquors,” Corros. Sci., vol. 49, no. 2, pp. 497–509, 2007.
[8] A. F. Maclean, Harold; Gardner, “Heartwood extractives in Digester Corrosion,” Pulp Pap. Mag. Can., vol.
11, pp. 125–130, 1953.
[9] G.M. Barton and A.F. Gardner, “The Chemical Nature of the Acetone Extractive of Western Red Cedar,”
Pulp and Paper Magazine of Canada, vol. 55, no. September, p. 132, 1954.
[10] M. Tunnicliffe, “The Effect of Extractives on the Passivation of Carbon Steel in Synthetic Black Liquor
Environments,” in CORROSION 2018, Phoenix, AZ, 2018.
[11] D.C. Crowe and D. Tromans, “High‐Temperature Polarization Behaviour of Carbon Steel in Alkaline
Sulphide Solutions,” Corrosion, vol. 44, no. 3, p. 142, 1988.
[12] ASTM Standard G1 "Standard Practice for Preparing, Cleaning, and Evaluating Corrosion Test
Specimens,” ASTM Int. 2012.
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How Does Black Liquor Corrosivity Change with
Decreasing Residual Effective Alkali (REA)
TAPPI PEERS
October 27‐30
Session 29
Agenda
Introduction
Experimental Methods
• Mill pulp Furnish and corrosion rates
• Liquor REA modification
Results
• Short term electrochemical studies
• Longer term immersion studies
Discussion
Conclusion
Introduction
Introduction
The relative happiness of Engineering's and Mill Manager's is directly
related to the amount of pulp they make in a year…
• Reducing liquor REA targets can influence reaction kinetics in the digester and
is a tool that can be used to increase throughput.
• Decreasing white liquor usage can help debottleneck a mill
• Less chemical will be required if you use less white liquor
…but will lowering REA corrode their digester?
Introduction
Suppliers, consultants, research papers, and process engineers know
they have target, so why should we explore this topic?
Authors
reference
unknown
Kraft black liquor Corrosivity
Inorganic compounds in black liquor
• Previous knowledge has established that corrosion by black liquor is
related to temperature, sulphidity, and REA(?). Corrosion is thought
to increases with:
…but no studies could be found
that establish a critical REA
Kraft black liquor corrosivity
But organic compounds also play a role!
Previous studies/experience has demonstrated that softwood liquors
are generally more than hardwood black liquors, but non have studied
specific REA targets
The objective of this paper is to determine if changing black liquor REA
targets influences the corrosivity of black liquor
Experimental Methods
Not all experiments need to take a long time
Experimental Methods
Black liquor samples were obtained from three mills across Canada.
Two of these mills swing from hardwood to softwood, and the third is a
softwood mill.
Mill A
Softwood Jack Pine
Hardwood Trembling Aspen, Black poplar
Mill B
Softwood Hemlock, Cedar, Fir, Larch Spruce,
Balsam, Pine
Mill C
Softwood Spruce, Jack pine, and trace balsam fir
Hardwood Trembling aspen
Experimental Methods Continuous
White liquor
Chips
Sample location.
Digester
• Mill liquor samples were obtained from
the Extraction screens and wash zone
Laboratory experiments setup
• All experiments were performed in an Extraction
autoclave at 150°C liquor
• Ag/AgCl reference electrodes were used
Electrochemical Techniques
• 5 hour Open circuit potential
• Potentiodynamic experiments Wash liquor
• 5 day immersion experiments were used
Experimental Methods
Process liquor characterization
• REA titrations were performed using the SCAN technique
• Black liquor samples were modified by adding weak
sulphuric acid to target REA
Electrochemical experiments were perform with ASTM
practices in mind
• OCP ‐ Open Circuit Potential (5 hours)
• PDP‐ Potentiodynamic polarizations (0.166 mv/S scan rate)
Experimental
Potential of interest for OCP
experiments were established using
potentiodynamic polarizations
This Potential of Interest is a good
indicator to predict carbon steel stability
over longer term studies
This plot was taken from a previous study that polarized
carbon steel in 5 g/L NaOH and 20 g/L Na2S at 150°C
Pulp Furnish
Initial characterization and corrosion rates
Mill A
Mill A Softwood Mill B Softwood Mill C Hardwood Mill C Softwood
Hardwood
Hemlock, Cedar,
Trembling Spruce, Jack
Fir, Larch Trembling
Pulp furnish Aspen, Black Jack Pine pine, and trace
Spruce, Balsam, aspen
Poplar balsam fir
Pine
Upper extraction
line Extraction line
Sample location Extraction line / /
lower extraction Wash line
lines
Liquor REA as received
8.2 7.6 14.1 / 8.6 8.1 / 14.1 4.5 / 2.0
(g/L as Na2O)
Corrosion rate
(mpy) 4.1 27.7 6.9 / 4.6 0.05 / 0.02 13.4 / 0.74
Results
Short term experiments
Mill A – Extraction liquor
• Carbon steel in hardwood liquor
was generally stable, and the Hardwood
OCP increased with decreasing
REA
Softwood
• Similar trends with softwood
were observed, with the
exception of oscillations in OCP
Mill B –Extraction Liquor
• Carbon steel in mill be Upper
softwood was quite low, and
appear to oscillate
(unstable?)
In longer term studies, and online
corrosion monitoring these
Lower
extraction oscillations were more regular
Mill C – Extraction liquor
Hardwood
• The OCP of carbon steel in Mill C
extraction liquor was generally
stable
Softwood
Mill C – Wash Liquor
Hardwood
• The OCP of carbon steel in
hardwood was stable in both
hardwood and softwood
• …however, the carbon steel in
the softwood wash liquor took
longer to reach a stable OCP
Softwood
Results
The OCP experiments are useful to predict the performance of carbon steel
in longer term studies
• High and Stable OCP > ‐900 mV are likely to result in low rates of corrosion
• Low OCP < ‐900mV would likely result in higher rates of corrosion
• OCP Oscillation tend to produce much higher rates of corrosion
Of the hardwood liquors tested; there was no strong correlation between the
corrosion of carbon steel and REA
Immersion Results
A corrosion of 5 mpy (red line) represents a low
rate of corrosion of carbon steel in black liquor
environments
• Mill C softwood liquor was much more
corrosive than the liquor from Mill B and C
• Mill B and C softwood liquors did not show a
strong correlation with decreasing REA
• Wash liquor did not appear to be corrosive
Of the liquors tested; there was no strong correlation with REA, but in most
cases the corrosion rate of carbon steel was independent of REA
Discussion
Discussion
Could oscillations be a product of laboratory experiments? Yes, but they also
occurred in mill liquor in online corrosion monitoring practices at mill A and B
Softwood vs. Hardwood black liquor corrosivity Softwood black liquor was
generally more corrosive than hardwood, but limited correlation could be
established in this study as to why
Extraction liquor vs. Wash liquor corrosivity Extraction liquor was generally more
corrosive than wash liquor
What is in softwood, and how does REA change how it reacts with carbon steel
Papers have been written on this subject and it remains unclear at this time
Future work
• It would be great to install a corrosion probe close to a device that measures online REA
measurement device
• Confirm sulphidity
Conclusion
Conclusions
• This work confirmed previous experimental results relating to the
relative corrosivity of pulping liquors to carbon steel when processing
hardwood vs. softwood
• The OCP experiments were able to good for predicting relative
corrosivity of process liquors with knowledge of PDP experiments
• From immersion testing;
• The carbon steel hardwood liquors had low rates of corrosion and were
independent of REA
• Mill A had apparent good correlation with liquor corrosivity, whereas Mill B
and C did not
Questions?