Researchers in Iran Produce Environmentally Friendly Corrosion Inhibitors for Pipelines

The AUT public relations said in a report that Mohammadreza Shoja, a PhD student at highly prestigous Iranian technical university and the executive director of the project "Synthesis, Identification and Performance Assessment of Hybrid Metal Organic Frameworks with Ionic Liquids As Corrosion Inhibitors In The Oil Industry," said in an interview that fuel supply is one of the basic issues in each country, and its cheap and safe transfer matters a lot.

Studies available online show that Ionic liquids (ILs) packed in metal organic frameworks (MOFs) have emerged as a hybrid solid-state material that possesses high conductivity, low flammability, and strong mechanical stability.

Ionic liquids (ILs) are normally defined as compounds completely composed of ions with melting point below 100 °C.

“One of the fast, reliable and continuous ways to transfer fuel (oil and gas) is using pipelines. In the meantime, we face a problem called corrosion; Corrosion is one of the major problems in the oil and gas industry, and due to corrosion, leakage of fuel from pipes takes place. Repairing and reconstructing pipes in traditional ways not only is takes a lot of time and is costly, but also it will cause damage to environment.”

“The main and ultimate goal of this research was to prevent corrosion in the oil industry, especially in oil transmission pipes using a selection of suitable inhibitory materials,” Shoja said, adding that, “In this research, for the first time, we used new ionic liquids with minimal database (as green corrosion inhibitors), metal-organic structures and slow release of the inhibitor over time to improve the corrosion condition of oil transmission pipes.”

 “Using these liquids as hybrid green corrosion inhibitors with metal-organic frameworks and investigating the inhibitor's slow release process was another aspect of the project's innovation,” he also explained.

“The synthesis and identification of new ionic liquids, the use of metal-organic frameworks as an inhibitor auxiliary and a template for corrosion inhibitors, the investigation of the slow release process of the inhibitor from within the metal-organic frameworks over time are some of the features of this project” the researcher further noted.

According to him, the results and findings of the research project can be used in various industries, including the oil industry.

Shoja further said that for the first time this type of ionic liquid synthesized in the laboratory with high purity was utilized as a green corrosion inhibitor in the slow release process of the inhibitor in the aqueous environment (by green, he mean organic or environmentally friendly).

Referring to the competitive advantages of the project, he said, “Using green corrosion inhibitors compared to chemical inhibitors, the novelty of the idea of using metal-organic frameworks in the slow release process of corrosion inhibitors in the aqueous environment are among the advantages of this project.”

According to the AUT public relations report, Shoja said that the method can be employed in various industries, including the oil industry.

“Using the results of this project, green inhibitors can be a good alternative for chemical inhibitors that pollute the environment,” the AUT researcher concluded.

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