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SS 316 PIPES and H2SO4

How can we prove that SS 316 Pipes will be suitable for concentrated sulfuric Acid Fluid media? Is there any proven certificates available? If this will not work out what would be the best solution?

SULAIMAN SHANAVAS
Piping Supervisor - DAMMAM, EASTERN, SAUDI ARABIA
2003

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2003

Hi Sulaiman,

Firstly, you need to give us full info a) what is the max. concentration of your sulfuric b) what will the pressure be c) what is the temperature.

This is not an uncommon question. Maybe/perhaps the following archival entries may be of interest so please try # 8698, 18489, 12244, 18942, 12168 and 14261.

Freeman Newton [deceased]
(It is our sad duty to advise that Freeman passed away
April 21, 2012. R.I.P. old friend).

There is no guarantee with any pipe as its use will vary from place to place. Typically, 316 will not last a year if the temperature gets above 75 degrees F. Other factors like trace chlorides, amount of water, mechanical erosion from flow and stresses in the metal from manufacturing or installation will also reduce the life of the pipe. For a reasonable lifetime, you will need to go to a plastic lined pipe and fittings (typically a teflon but there are others). The cost is much higher and the installation labor cost will be much higher for a quality installation. There are several companies that offer this material.

James Watts
- Navarre, Florida
2003