Progress in research on mechanisms and controlling of naphthenic acid corrosion at high temperatures

Naphthenic acid corrosion (NAC) is an imperative problem to be necessarily solved in refinery industry. The study of NAC is uninterrupted during the years, yet its mechanism has not been thoroughly understood as there are a series of factors affecting the corrosion process. This present paper, reviews the the advances in researches of the mechanisms, influencing factors, tests as well as controlling methods of NAC. The roles of crude oil type and composition, temperature, materials of construction, fluid velocity and operating time in NAC are discussed in detail. According to the factors affecting NAC, it is of great importance to make some researches of NAC by means of field tests as well as simulated and accelerated tests in laboratory. As there are still some defects in all the existed controlling methods, further researches will be needed to fully understand the behaviors and laws of NAC at high temperatures.