Fundamental and Application of Surface Active Agents in Petroleum Industry as Corrosion Inhibitors

Surface active agents (surfactants) are abundant in nature, manufacturing, and daily life. They find applications in various petroleum production operations. This chapter discusses many applications of surfactants as corrosion inhibitors in the petroleum industry like as oil and gas production, refinery processes, water flooding, acid retarders (acid corrosion inhibitor) in both acidization of oil and gas wells and chemical cleaning processes for heat exchangers, separator vessels, drain of oil and gas production stations, water flooding stations in addition to cooling tower treatment. The higher inhibition efficiency of surfactants as corrosion inhibitors is due to adequate solubility and rate of migration of the inhibitor from the bulk solution to the metal surface. In addition, strong binding of the surfactant head groups to the metal surface and self-assembly of hydrocarbon tails to form a hydrophobic barrier.