Against a lack of understanding
Using thermodynamic models to understand scale and corrosion in chemical plants

Corrosion is one of the greatest and most expensive problems faced by the developed world and, in particular, the chemical industry. Estimates of the annual costs of corrosion range up to 4% of GDP in the developed countries. For example, the cost of corrosion to North American industry has been estimated to be 100 billion dollars a year. Prediction of the behavior of aqueous solutions and their interaction with materials of construction over the ranges of temperatures and pressures used is therefore of great importance, not only to the oil and gas industry and general chemical process plant operators, but also to the water treatment and purification industries.
Water is probably the most common liquid found in chemical process plants. Often it is the primary medium of an entire process or is used for cooling and heating services in utility systems. The oil and gas industry currently has to treat and transport approximately 500 million barrels of brine per day. In aqueous industries, water or brines are the main streams in the processes. And effluent streams of water from all processes need to be treated to meet environmental requirements before being returned to the environment.