Mechanistic insights of dissolution and mechanical breakdown of FeCO3 corrosion films

To understand the behavior of corrosion films on X65 C-steel under CO2 conditions is paramount to identify the formation and transformations of corrosion products. This work presents the chemical changes and mechanical effects produced by pH and flow on corrosion films through the combination of molecular techniques with imaging. Siderite, wustite and magnetite were identified as corrosion products at neutral pH, which dissolved and mechanical damaged at low pH by a 1m/s brine flow with a crystal size reduction of ~80%. In contrast, at pH 7 and 1m/s flow facilitated the removal of entire crystals from the film.