Research Progress and Problem Analysis on Corrosion Prediction of Supercritical CO2 Transport Pipelines

LI Fagen; CAO Yuguang; ZHEN Ying; LI Xuanpeng; HUANG Jufeng

doi:10.16490/j.cnki.issn.1001-3660.2026.10.001

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Surface Technology ›› 2026, Vol. 55 ›› Issue (10) : 1-11. DOI: 10.16490/j.cnki.issn.1001-3660.2026.10.001

Corrosion and Protection

Research Progress and Problem Analysis on Corrosion Prediction of Supercritical CO₂ Transport Pipelines

LI Fagen^1,2,*, CAO Yuguang², ZHEN Ying², LI Xuanpeng¹, HUANG Jufeng¹

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Abstract

Pipeline transport serves as a core of large-scale CO₂ delivery in CCUS (Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage) projects, and supercritical pipeline transport is the most economical and feasible delivery method for CO₂. However, due to the inherent characteristics of multicomponent impurities and complexity of aqueous phase precipitation, it remains difficult to prevent and control pipeline corrosion effectively and economically. Therefore, conducting accurate corrosion prediction in this regard is of great significance to safe transportation of pipelines. The work aims to provide a comprehensive review of research progress regarding corrosion mechanisms and prediction technologies for supercritical CO₂ transport pipelines, which are integral to the entire process of comprehensive mechanistic models, with the focus on analyzing current status and existing problems of numerical analysis supporting experiments and field application. Furthermore, key research directions for addressing the challenges in each link of the prediction process are proposed, including aqueous phase precipitation process, water chemical reactions process, corrosion electrochemical reactions process and corrosion product films formation reaction process. At present, although supercritical pipeline corrosion exhibits distinct characteristics regarding the effects of water content, CO₂ partial pressure, and flow rate, its corrosion reaction mechanism in the absence of impurity gases shows no significant difference from that of low-pressure CO₂ corrosion. However, the scenario changes noticeably when impurity gases are introduced: water solubility, corrosion reaction mechanisms, and corrosion morphologies all undergo changes to varying degrees. Among these, the action mechanisms of individual impurity factors (such as H₂O, H₂S, O₂, SO₂, N₂O, N₂, H₂and CH₄) have been basically clarified at present, but synergistic mechanism of mixed gases has not yet been fully understood, and a systematic and quantitative description is still lacking. In addition, regarding corrosion prediction, compared with traditional empirical models and semi-empirical models, comprehensive mechanistic models describe corrosion phenomena based on established physicochemical laws. These models offer more accurate predictions and stronger extensibility, and are thus regarded as a feasible future development direction for precise corrosion prediction of supercritical CO₂. However, existing models still have limitations in terms of applicability to corrosion operating conditions, matching of corrosion morphologies, and comprehensiveness of affecting factors. Moreover, laboratory experiments supporting corrosion prediction also face insufficient reliability problems. Meanwhile, field applications of corrosion prediction models still face many challenges, among which unreasonable use of models and the difficulty in accurately extracting field data are particularly prominent. In the future, regarding corrosion mechanisms, it is necessary to advance the investigation into synergistic mechanisms of impurity gases, quantify synergistic effects through theoretical analysis, and establish the matching relationship between impurity concentration and corrosion rate. In terms of corrosion prediction models, efforts should be made to accelerate construction quantification and distribution models for aqueous phase precipitation, aqueous chemistry models for multicomponent impurities, thermodynamics and kinetics models for multicomponent impurity reactions, and thermodynamics and kinetics models for competitive formation and growth of multi-product films. Meanwhile, the research on comprehensive mechanism models that integrate physicochemical processes and affecting factors under multicomponent impurity conditions should be promoted. In the aspect of experimental technology, it is essential to strengthen research on methods for accurate measurement and replenishment of corrosive media under conditions of low water content and synergistic effects of multicomponent impurities, and improve experimental methods. For field applications, it is crucial to fully understand physical implications and applicability limits of model parameters, validate the rationality of input data, and accurately extract field data.

Key words

supercritical CO₂ / transport pipeline / corrosion prediction / comprehensive mechanistic models / multicomponent impurities / aqueous phase precipitation / test methods / field application

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LI Fagen, CAO Yuguang, ZHEN Ying, LI Xuanpeng, HUANG Jufeng. Research Progress and Problem Analysis on Corrosion Prediction of Supercritical CO₂ Transport Pipelines[J]. Surface Technology. 2026, 55(10): 1-11

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