Review
High performance polymers for oil and gas applications

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.reactfunctpolym.2021.104878Get rights and content

Highlights

  • Different classes of high performance polymers (HPPs) relevant to the oil and gas industry are discussed.

  • The chemical and physical properties of the HPPs, along with their industrial safety benefits, are highlighted.

  • This review article aims to provide an overview of the properties and applications of high performance polymers that are commonly used in the oil and gas industry.

  • The utility of HPPs in applications requiring high temperature, high pressure, and corrosive environment are detailed.

  • Current direction and research efforts on HPPs are briefly presented.

  • The application of HPPs in 3D printing technology is emphasized.

Abstract

Proper material selection has been one of the most important aspects in the design of chemical process equipment. In particular, the oil and gas industry has transitioned from using metals to non-metals (e.g. advanced and high performance polymeric materials) in most of their structural components, coatings, equipment parts, and the like. It is therefore imperative to understand the advantages and limitations of these polymer materials before they can be effectively used for a specific application. This review article aims to provide an overview of the properties, applications, and durability against reactivity and degradation of high performance polymers commonly used in the oil and gas industry. These include polysulfone, polyetherimide, polyphenylene sulfide, polyetheretherketone, fluoropolymers, and other high performance thermosets, elastomers, and polymer nanocomposites. This article also covers the current research efforts in improving the properties of high performance polymers and expanding their applications (including 3D printing or additive manufacturing) in the oil and gas industry.

Introduction

Improper choice of materials in chemical industries can pose, not only serious economic issues, but also potential hazards and accidents, which can put peoples' lives at risk. A vast number of reports and safety audits describe accidents that could have been prevented had proper structural materials and coatings been used and maintained. The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) reported different accidents that can be traced from misuse of materials. Fire is often the result of material failure due to corrosion of unprotected metallic parts, or use of non-metallic materials that are unable to withstand high temperature conditions. BSEE compiled all the incidents associated specifically with oil and gas operations [[1], [2], [3]].

Shell Offshore, Inc., for example, had different fire incidents resulting from failure of non-metallic materials. In 1997, a transformer shortage caused a cured coating to melt into a high temperature liquid, subsequently causing fire. In 1999, a small fire also occurred due to failure of seals, causing friction and excessive high temperature buildup, eventually igniting the surrounding lubricant. Vastar Resources, Inc. incurred a similar incident due to failure of an O-ring, where a metal-to-metal friction and oil leak from the pump caused a fire. BSEE also reported that Exxon Corporation had an accident involving a corroded saltwater relief valve, in which salt water was sprayed into a high-voltage panel, causing its electrical system to short out.

Accidents due to improper material use occur, not only in oil and gas industries, but also in other giant chemical and manufacturing industries, as in the case for the incident in 2009 at NDK Crystal, Inc. in Belvidere (IL, USA) [4]. NDK manufactures synthetic quartz via recrystallization of raw mined quartz in NaOH solution containing small amounts of LiNO3 in a 14-m long steel alloy cylindrical vessel (see Fig. 1a). This process, known as hydrothermal synthesis, simulates the natural geologic crystal growth through high temperature (371 °C) and high pressure (200 MPa) operations. During this process, the direct exposure of steel vessel to NaOH solution and silica resulted in the formation of acmite (sodium iron silicate), which served as a protective coating for the steel vessel wall. However, on December 7, 2009, one of the steel vessels was violently ruptured, bursting a superheated liquid with steel vessel fragments flying over a distance of 250 m in all directions, damaging the product storage area, laboratory, and production offices, and fatally injuring an individual (Fig. 1b). Further investigations revealed that the probable cause of the vessel rupture was stress corrosion cracking as a result of simultaneous effects of pressure and the corrosive environment. Such incident could have been prevented had the inner wall of the steel vessel been coated with a high performance coating that can withstand high temperature, high pressure, and chemical attack.

Another accident resulting from improper choice of material was the fatal exposure of a veteran operator to a highly toxic phosgene in a DuPont facility (Belle, WV, USA) in 2010 [5]. Inhaled phosgene undergoes hydrolysis and forms HCl, which irritates the upper respiratory system. It can also react with the proteins in the pulmonary bronchioles and alveoli, resulting in the disruption of the blood-air barrier and subsequent accumulation of liquid in the lungs. At DuPont, phosgene is used as a raw material for the production of their chemical products. A stainless steel braided hose with a material lining is used to transfer the phosgene from the storage tank to the processing equipment. On January 23, 2010, the steel hose suddenly failed, causing roughly 1 kg of phosgene to be sprayed over the chest and face of an operator, who was, at that time, inspecting the phosgene cylinders (Fig. 2). The operator was rushed to the hospital, but unfortunately died the following night. Post-incident inspection of the steel hose revealed that the failure was caused by a corrosion localized underneath an adhesive tape used to secure the manufacturer's tag. The phosgene vapor diffuses through the permeable lining and hydrolyzes beneath the adhesive, eventually corroding the underlying stainless steel. Such incident could have been prevented had proper hose material been used.

It is of utmost priority for industrial companies to keep their employees, contractors and the public safe at all times. It is also extremely important to acquire a thorough understanding of the material properties, stability, and durability prior to their utility as protective coatings or structural parts. Furthermore, the various safety hazards resulting in accidents in big industrial corporations, which often have well-funded safety departments, represent a major problem in their comprehensive risk assessment and lack of mitigation plans. Such shortcomings can even be more aggravated in third world countries, where entities like BSEE and OSHA are either less active, or do not even exist at all [6].

High performance polymers (HPPs) are endowed with the ability to endure extreme weathering conditions, harsh environments, and mechanical abuse, without compromising their functionality and desirable properties [7]. Due to their excellent characteristics, HPPs are the most sought-after materials in the industry including the aerospace, medical, marine, chemical, and many more. In particular, HPPs lead the choice for utility in the oil and gas industry where high heat conditions, material strength, corrosive environment, and most importantly, high industrial safety levels are the decisive factors. Our group has reviewed different applications of polymers for the oil and gas industry in the literature: corrosion inhibitors [8], smart cements and additives [9], stimuli-responsive materials [10], and 3D printed materials - mechanical characterization [11], and applications in membrane separation, desalination, and water treatment [12]. In this current review, we aim to cover different HPPs, their chemical and physical properties, and relevance to the oil and gas industry, with highlights on their specific uses, performance, and industrial safety benefits. We also provide an overview of their utility and durability in high temperature, high pressure, and highly corrosive applications. Further, we present short contemporary research efforts on the application of several HPPs, which can be potentially expounded into individual full length review. Note that these discussions are kept short as they are solely intended to provide brief insights on the current direction and utility of HPPs, while overall maintaining a coherent HPP review.

Section snippets

Polymer classification

Polymers can be classified according to their chemical structure, property, or use. The most common way is classifying them as thermoplastics, thermosets, or elastomers. Thermoplastics soften when heated and return to their original condition when cooled. This process occurs because their polymeric structures are only held together by weak intermolecular forces, which can easily be disrupted thermally. Thermosets, on the other hand, are characterized by cross-linked, three-dimensional network

High performance polymers (HPP)

High performance polymers (HPPs) are defined as polymers that can withstand harsh conditions (corrosive environments, high temperature and pressure conditions, etc.), while retaining their desirable properties. They have been termed as high temperature polymers, advanced engineering materials, and heat-resistant polymers. There are several required criteria for a polymer to be considered as high performance. Some of these are listed as follows [7]:

  • The polymer durability should at least be

Amorphous HPPs

Amorphous polymers are macromolecules that are oriented randomly and do not exhibit short- and long-range order. The random orientation of the chains results in entangled structures with lack of degree of crystallinity (often detected by X-ray diffraction and scattering experiments) [14]. Examples of commodity amorphous polymers include polystyrene (PS), poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC), poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) polymer, polycarbonate (PC), and

Conclusion

In this review article, we discussed a variety of HPPs and their potential applications particularly in the oil and gas industry. The structure-property relationships of commonly used HPPs have been discussed, as well as current research efforts on these polymers. Depending on the desired material property, there is a specialized kind of polymer that can be used with or without additives in order to enhance the material safety, durability, and performance. Although the oil and gas industry

Declaration of Competing Interest

The authors confirm that the work is not submitted to any other journal or any particular conflict of interest is present preventing us from submitting the manuscript.

Acknowledgements

This study was supported in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - Brasil (CAPES) - Finance Code 001 for Italo da Silva. Work (or Part of this work) was conducted at ORNL's Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences by R.C.A. which is a US Department of Energy Office of Science User Facility. RCA also acknowledges funding from the Governor's Chair program, the University of Tennessee.

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