Experimental and theoretical studies of chitosan derivatives as green corrosion inhibitor for oil and gas well acid acidizing

Abstract Chitosan is a widely distributed recyclable green resource in nature. Because of the particular molecular structure, chitosan derivatives have become an effective way to research environmental friendly corrosion inhibitors for oil and gas well acidizing. In this study, four chitosan derivatives were synthesized and investigated as green corrosion inhibitors for P110 steel in 15% HCl solution in various ways, including weight loss, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), electrochemical measurements (EIS), energy dispersive spectrum (EDS) and molecular dynamic simulations. The experimental results demonstrate that four chitosan inhibitors have an excellent inhibition effect, and there is an obvious negative correlation between the concentration of corrosion inhibitor and the inhibition efficiency. Finally, the erosion effect of the fluid on the corrosion inhibitor layer was studied under different flow velocity conditions and pipeline positions in oil and gas well. The results reveal that the erosion effect of the pipe is proportional to the inlet velocity of the fluid.