Sustainable and Environmentally Friendly Corrosion Inhibitors for Renewable Energy Applications

该博士将与Roemex合作，研究和优化地热能源基础设施防腐的可持续化学抑制剂。将设计一个集成了电化学传感的多电极流动电池，并利用它来表征现有缓蚀剂的性能，以了解如何开发新型的环境友好型缓蚀剂，这些缓蚀剂是由工业废物合成的，如氨基酸。然后，该电池将与新合成的化学物质结合使用，以优化化学混合物，用于全球特定地热系统中的碳钢防腐。地热能源环境基础设施中使用的材料暴露在苛刻的条件下，例如高温和低ph值。这就造成了严重的腐蚀挑战，通常通过应用吸附在金属表面并建立保护膜的缓蚀剂来缓解。然而，许多化学抑制剂具有毒性和不可持续的特性，因此不适合地热能源的应用，其目标是逐步淘汰这些化学物质。通过采用循环经济方法和从工业废物中合成化学抑制剂，可以实现一种更可持续的减少地热能腐蚀的方法。

This PhD will investigate and optimise sustainable chemical inhibitors for the corrosion protection of geothermal energy infrastructure, in collaboration with Roemex. A multi-electrode flow cell, integrated with electrochemical sensing, will be designed and utilised to characterise existing inhibitor performance with a view to understand how to develop novel environmentally friendly corrosion inhibitors synthesised from industrial waste products, such as amino acids. The cell will then be used in conjunction with newly synthesised chemistries to optimise chemical blends for corrosion protection of carbon steel in specific geothermal systems worldwide. The materials utilised in the infrastructure of geothermal energy environments are exposed to demanding conditions, such as high temperature and low pH. This creates significant corrosion challenges, which are often mitigated by the application of corrosion inhibitors that adsorb onto the metal surface and establish a protective film. However, many chemical inhibitors possess toxic and unsustainable characteristics so are unsuitable for geothermal energy application, with the goal being to phase-out these chemistries. By adopting a circular economy approach and synthesising chemical inhibitors from industrial waste products, a more sustainable approach to geothermal energy corrosion mitigation can be achieved.