INDUSTRY ISSUES
This is an interview with Marc Singer
Assistant Director for Technology at The Institute for Corrosion and Multiphase Technology

What is the function of your department?
The Institute for Corrosion and Multiphase Technology (ICMT) has established itself as a leading facility for the investigation of CO2 corrosion of mild steel as related to the oil and gas industry. We have been conducted cutting edge research in this area for more than ten years now. However, as we are fully dependant on Ohio University, our primary function remains to educate and train highly competent students who will implement and disseminate this knowledge throughout the corrosion engineering community.

What are industry issues that you respond to?
The ICMT is entirely funded by the private sector and its research focus is driven exclusively by the current industry needs. Most of our medium and long term research projects are related the study of localized corrosion. This phenomenon is always linked to the presence of scale or deposit on the pipe surface. Therefore, corrosion product formation / dissolution involving CO2 / H2S mixtures, corrosion under deposits related to sand settling or microbiologically induced corrosion (MIC) are the most serious issues of the moment. In addition, the ICMT is also involved in an extensive multiphase flow research project with the aim of defining the flow regime of hydrocarbon / water mixture.

What are the things you are currently working on?
We are currently working on a project linked to the Top of the Line Corrosion (TLC) which is a type of internal corrosion that happens in a wet gas line and in dewing conditions. The condensation regime (or the way that the droplets of liquid form at the top of the line from condensation of the vapor) is a critical parameter needed to access correctly the resulting corrosion attack. In this particular field, in-situ observation of the condensation/corrosion process has already proven to be a very valuable source of information.
www.corrosioncenter.org