Corrosion protection of steel pipelines with metal-polymer composite barrier liners

Pipelines are efficient in transporting natural gas over large distances. Wet carbon dioxide present in pipelines can create an environment that is corrosive to steel. Polymer liners made from either polyethylene or polyamide (nylon) are presently used to mitigate internal corrosion in natural gas pipelines. Gas diffuses through all polymers over time, and polymer-only liners lower the steel corrosion rate by reducing the reactive gas flux to the internal surface of a pipeline. Composite liners, which incorporate one or more metallic layers that are impermeable to corrosive gases, offer better protection than polymer-only liners. We measured the methane, water vapor, and carbon dioxide permeability of a multi-layer barrier film and found it to be more effective in resisting gas permeation than polyethylene and nylon-11 films. The composite barrier film was more effective in protecting steel coupons immersed in a mixture of gaseous methane and wet carbon dioxide at 1 and 24 atm compared with polyethylene and polyamide films. •Gas permeability of CH4, CO2, and H2O measured for 5 polymer and 3 composite films.•Aluminum layer is effective in improve the gas barrier property of composite films.•Steel coupons enclosed in composite barrier films are less prone to sweet corrosion.