Our company has a natural gas pipeline network which has been active since 1959 and currently has a
total length of reaching 1,400km. The analysis of particle diameter distribution and chemical
composition of black powder captured in the gas filters at the gas supply points give valuable
information related to pipeline operation management. This paper contains information obtained from
X-ray Fluorescence (XRF), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Thermo Gravimeter & Differential Thermal analysis
(TG-DTA) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometry (FT/IR) analyses of collected black powder
from our pipelines.
The results showed that Fe3O4 is the main compound of black powder and is originated from a process
of dissolved oxygen corrosion due to the presence of very small amounts of oxygen and water in the
pipeline. The presence of oxygen and water in the pipeline could be due to the exposure of the pipeline
to the atmosphere during pipeline construction or other major repairs. As the next step, historical
operational data and information about pipeline construction should be systematically collected and
integrated in a useful way to predict the formation of black powder and improve pipeline maintenance.
Key words: black powder, sales gas, internal corrosion, chemical properties, pipeline maintenance