A study of the corrosion in the equipment of a WWTP for planning preventive measures

Résumé

Corrosion keeps being one of the problems that causes huge losses worldwide and, if not properly detected, triggers failures in industrial facilities, with the consequent risk that this entails. Particularly, in wastewater treatment plants (WWTP), corrosion is responsible for significantly reducing the useful life of equipment, pipes, instruments, etc. causing large economic losses and, sometimes, accidents due to the premature degradation of materials in equipment and metal structures. Among the factors causing corrosion are hydrogen sulphide and the humidity inherent to these installations. In this work, the concentrations of these two agents in a WWTP are analysed, representing them through concentration maps, to study their relationship with the elements most affected by this phenomenon, that reveals the areas of the facility that were potentially most exposed to corrosion. Furthermore, because of these results, maintenance strategies were modified, largely reactive, including a program of periodic preventive actions in the facility, prioritized based on the criticality of the equipment, as well as other elements of the facility, and the level of potential exposure to such corrosive agents.