Oil and Gas Sector

In the oil industry, the corrosive agents attack and cause damage throughout the production chain, from extraction to refining oil, and through the flow ducts. In the specific case of oil wells, equipment installed inside are subjected to varying conditions of temperature and pressure, being inserted into a corrosive and/or abrasive environment. The fluid produced consists of a mixture of petroleum compounds, salt water, natural gas and suspended solids, such as sand. While the excavations of wells are being explored, greater amount of sand is produced and mixed with the oil, water and gas.

Rustech® can be an integral part in the oil and gas sector by protecting and increasing the useful life of the equipment, enabling them to resist the extreme conditions and controlling the corrosion.

OIL AND GAS EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION

Domestic oil and gas production can be considered to be a stagnant industry, because most of the significant available onshore oil and gas reserves have been exploited. Oil production in the United States in 1998 consisted of 3.04 billion barrels. The significant recoverable reserves left to be discovered and produced are probably limited to less convenient locations such as in deep water offshore, remote arctic locations, and difficult-to-manage reservoirs with unconsolidated sands. The total annual direct cost of corrosion in the U.S, oil and gas production industry is estimated at $1.4 billion, made up of $0.6 billion for surface piping and facility costs, $0.5 billion in downhole tubing expenses, and $0.3 billion in capital expenditures related to corrosion. (source:energyskeptic)

The total annual cost of corrosion in the oil and gas production industry in the US is estimated to be $1.372 billion, according to a NACE study.  (source: impact.nace)

Rustech® can be a logical approach to combat corrosion on pipeline distribution as well as the vehicle freight distribution of the fuel or gas. Rustech® offers their unique smart anticorrosion solution that differentiates from the traditional cathode technology by not using sacrificial metals and consuming very little energy, even in remote areas where there is no power source Rustech® can be accommodated with small solar panels to properly function.

MINING

One of the biggest and most costly reasons for equipment to go non-functional or mining production to stop is corrosion. Mining is not the only big industry looking at this persistent factor of operating machinery; the U.S. Navy has also had to factor it into the design and maintenance of its fleet. (For more this story, read Mega Rust: Navy Trends in Shipbuilding & Corrosion Control.)  Because there are many factors that cause corrosion mostly environment dependent there are also several methods of corrosion control. Since the effects of corrosion in the mining industry can, in the worst case scenario, affect far more than the company’s equipment or bottom line (e.g., a contamination of the area around the mining site), it is imperative that the industry maintain its efforts to stay on top of the issue. (source: corrosionpedia) 

Rustech® can be easily leveraged in the Mining Sector by providing sound corrosion solutions, both on the physical structure in the mines as well as on the excavating and transportation equipment and vehicles.

PETROLEUM REFINING

Petroleum is the single largest source of energy for the United States. The nation uses twice as much petroleum as either coal or natural gas. The U.S. refineries represent approximately 23% of the world’s petroleum production, and the United States has the largest refining capacity in the world, with 163 refineries. In 1996, U.S. refineries supplied more than 18 million barrels per day of refined petroleum products. The total annual direct cost of corrosion is estimated at $3.7 billion. Of this total, maintenance-related expenses are estimated at $1.8 billion, vessel turnaround expenses at $1.4 billion, and fouling costs are approximately $0.5 billion annually. (source:energyskeptic)

Rustech® has been involved in the petroleum industry by working closely with PEMEX on the integration of their technology in land/sea machinery and fuel distribution pipelines.

CHEMICAL, PETROCHEMICAL, AND PHARMACEUTICAL PRODUCTION

The chemical, petrochemical, and pharmaceutical industries play a major role in the U.S. economy by providing a wide range of products. The chemical industry includes those manufacturing facilities that produce bulk or specialty compounds by chemical reactions between organic and/or inorganic materials. The petrochemical industry includes those manufacturing facilities that create substances from raw hydrocarbon materials such as crude oil and natural gas. The pharmaceutical industry formulates, fabricates, and processes medicinal products from raw materials. The total annual direct cost of corrosion for this industry sector is estimated at $1.7 billion per year (8 percent of total capital expenditures). No calculation was made for the indirect costs of production outages or indirect costs related to catastrophic failures. The costs of operation and maintenance related to corrosion were not readily available; estimating these costs would require detailed study of data records of individual companies. (source:energyskeptic)

Rustech® can be instrumental in working with the pharmaceutical sector since its deployment is noninvasive, in most cases not requiring for the machines to halt production since Rustech® does not create any chemical reaction on the subject metal.

PULP AND PAPER

Materials in the pulp and paper industry (CPPI) are exposed to corrosive environments in almost all applications. When producing pulp and paper, there are many production steps in which materials are exposed to extreme corrosive environments, such as in digesters, evaporators, recovery boilers, bleaching, paper making machines and chemical storage tanks. The high costs of exchange of and reparations of equipment, often caused by increased demands on recycling and energy savings, has led to new challenges within corrosion protection. The $165 billion pulp, paper, and allied products industry supplies the U.S. with approximately 300 kg of paper per person each year. More than 300 pulp mills and 550 paper mills support its production. The harsh processing environments of these facilities make corrosion control especially costly and challenging. The direct annual cost for this sector is $6 billion, calculated as a fraction of the overall maintenance costs.  (source: ri.se / energyskeptic) 

Rustech® can help in this sector by providing a sound solution and one that is easily implemented.

AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION

One of the biggest enemies to farm machinery and infrastructure is corrosion damage. It is clear when corrosion is present because discoloration and deformation appears on metal surfaces. If left unattended, corrosion spreads and affects nearby surfaces. According to “A Review in Agricultural Industries” by Makanjuloa Oki and Paul Anawe, the agriculture sector has prevalent exposure to corrosion. (source: hs.environtechservices)

Agriculture operations are producing livestock, poultry, or other animal specialties and their products, and producing crops, including fruits and greenhouse or nursery products. According to the National Agricultural Statistics Service, there are approximately 1.9 million farms in the United States. Based on a 1997 census, the total value of farm machinery and equipment is approximately $15 billion per year. The two main reasons for replacing machinery or equipment include upgrading old equipment and substituting because of wear and corrosion. Discussions with people in this industrial sector resulted in an estimate of corrosion costs in the range of 5 percent to 10 percent of the value of all new equipment. The total annual direct cost of corrosion in the agricultural production industry is estimated at $1.1 billion. (source:energyskeptic)

Rustech® can be easily integrated in the agricultural sector by providing an added value by protecting both the structure and the machinery at work. Rustech® also has created many different kits specially designed to protect tractors, trucks, generators etc to quickly target and install the modules onto the equipment easily.

 FOOD PROCESSING

Corrosivity starts from the food itself due to the wide ph range and salt, water and vinegar content which comes from the processing of food where diverse aqueous solutions, syrups, and additives are added to the native matrix comprises of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats in order to enhance the food appearance, quality, and preservation. (source: foodsciencetechnology)

NACE International, the world’s leading corrosion control organization, estimates that nearly $2.1 billion is spent annually on corrosion-related costs in the food industry. Keeping corrosion at bay is critical since it can lead to unacceptable contaminants in a food manufacturing environment that threaten sanitation and product safety, as well as reduce the reliability of machinery, leading to costly downtime. The food processing industry is one of the largest manufacturing industries in the United States, accounting for approximately 14 percent of the total US, manufacturing output. Sales for food-processing companies totaled $265.5 billion in 1999. Because of quality-of-food requirements, stainless steel is widely used. Assuming that the stainless steel consumption and cost in this industry is entirely attributed to corrosion, a total annual direct cost of corrosion is estimated at 52.1 billion. This cost includes stainless steel usage for beverage production, food machinery, cutlery and utensils, commercial and restaurant equipment, appliances, aluminum cans, and the use of corrosion inhibitors. (source:energyskeptic)

Rustech® can be a great solution in the food industry since its presence does not contaminate or create any negative factors on the machinery it is protecting; Rustech® also can be easily installed without any major down time of the equipment.

ELECTRONICS

Corrosion in electronic components manifests itself in several ways. Computers, integrated circuits, and microchips are now an integral part of all technology-intensive industry products, ranging from aerospace and automotive to medical equipment and consumer products, and are therefore exposed to a variety of environmental conditions. Corrosion in electronic components are insidious and cannot be readily detected; therefore, when corrosion failure occurs, it is often dismissed as just a failure and the part or component is replaced. (source: energyskeptic)

In the 15 years that have passed since the study was released, inflation has driven both the direct and indirect costs of corrosion over $500 billion annually, totaling over $1 trillion in 2013 and rising to $1.1 trillion by the end of 2016.  (source: corrosionpedia)

When Rustech® is used to protect electronic devises the capacity for protection would not only be to the device, but also to the encasement and housing of such if it’s also metal, one has to be sure that every component is properly connected, for it to assure a corrosion free environment. * Rustech® must be connected properly to all parts that will be protected.

GAS DISTRIBUTION

According to the report, “Corrosion is the primary factor affecting the longevity and reliability of gas and liquid transmission pipelines that transport crucial energy sources throughout the nation. There are more than 528,000 km (328,000 miles) of natural gas transmission and gathering pipelines, 119,000 km (74,000 miles) of crude transmission and gathering pipelines, and 132,000 km (82,000 miles) of hazardous liquid transmission pipelines. The average annual corrosion-related cost is estimated at $7 billion to monitor, replace, and maintain these assets. The corrosion-related cost of operation and maintenance makes up 80% of this cost.” (source: ultrafiltrex)Rustech® can be an invaluable asset to pipelines unlike anode/cathodic protection which only protect minimal areas, only the exterior. Rustech® guarantees the protection of both the exterior and interior of the pipes.