NETL develops coating technology to protect pipelines from corrosion and improve safety and reliability

Pipeline corrosion can cause catastrophic failure events such as explosion hazards and emissions of environmentally damaging substances like methane from natural gas pipelines.

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An invention reported by researchers from the Natural Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), USA, can help protect against corrosion in natural gas, hydrogen, and carbon dioxide (CO₂) pipelines. The innovation is a new self-healing cold spray coating for internal pipeline corrosion protection.

According to NETL's Ömer Doğan, who worked on the innovation with NETL researchers Joseph Tylczak, and Margaret Ziomek-Moroz, and Zineb Belarbi, internal pipeline corrosion is a common problem.

"Internal corrosion in pipelines primarily is due to the presence of water, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen sulfide contained in natural gas," Doğan explained. "Internal corrosion can eventually result in leakage, cracks, and rupture of the pipeline leading to explosion hazards and methane emissions."