Lead Corrosion and Transport in Simulated Secondary Feedwater

Abstract

The ubiquitous presence of lead at trace levels in secondary feedwater is a concern to all operators of steam generators and has prompted laboratory studies of its interaction with Inconel 600, Inconel 690, Monel400 and Incoloy 800. Acute exposures of steam generator alloys to high levels ofdead in the laboratory and in the field have accelerated the degradation of these alloys. There is some disagreement over the role of lead when the exposure is to chronic levels. It has been proposed that most of the present degradation of steam generator tubes is due to low levels of lead although few if any failures have been experimentally linked to lead when sub-parts per billion levels are present in the feedwater. One reason for the difficulty in assigning the role of the lead is related to its possible immobilization on the surfaces of corrosion products or iron oxide films in the feedwater system. We have measured lead adsorption profiles on the three principal corrosion products in the secondary feedwater; magnetite, lepidocrocite and hematite. In all cases, essentially complete adsorption of the lead is achieved at pH values less than that of the feedwater (9-10). If lead is maintained in this adsorbed state, it may be more chemically benign than lead that is free to dissolve in the feedwater and subsequently adsorb on steam generator tube surfaces. In this paper, we report on lead adsorption onto simulated corrosion products under simulated feedwater conditions and propose a physical model for the transport and fate of lead under operating conditions. The nature of lead adsorption onto the surfaces of different corrosion products will be discussed. The desorption behaviour of lead from iron oxide surfaces following different treatment conditions will be used to propose a model for the transport and probable fate of lead in the secondary feedwater system.