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CORROSION PREVENTION
METALS AND ALLOYS
Stainless steel is not stainless, it is not the
most corrosion-resistant material, and it is
not a specific alloy.
( from 11.5 to 30% chromium and from zero
to 22% nickel, together with other alloy
additions).

In chloride-containing mediums and stressed

structures, stainless steels are less resistant
than ordinary structural steel.
Stainless steel alloys are more susceptible to
localized corrosion such as intergranular
corrosion, stress-corrosion cracking, and
pitting attack than ordinary structural steels.

Stainless steels represent a class of highly

corrosion-resistant materials of relatively
low cost that should be carefully used.

Passivity
Passivity in a metal refers to a relatively
inactive state in which it (the metal) displays
a more noble behavior than thermodynamic
considerations predict. It is the reason a
metal does not corrode when it should.

A normal metal is a metal which does not

show passivity effect.

If chromium is added to iron to make a high

chromium (over 12%) steel, this alloy should
be less corrosion resistant than ordinary steel.
Chromium and the stainless steels become
passive, or exhibit passivity, because of the
formation of a protective film on the surface
of the metal.

Aluminum quickly forms a surface coating of

aluminum oxide, which stops further
corrosion by many environments.
Lead is below hydrogen in the emf series, but
it shows excellent resistance to sulfuric acid at
concentrations below 90%. Lead sulfate
quickly forms when lead is exposed to
sulfuric acid and corrosion stops.

In strong, concentrated sulfuric acid, lead

corrodes because lead sulfate dissolves in this
acid and the metal cannot become passive or
passivity is destroyed
Titanium forms a protective film of TiO2,
and high-silicon cast iron forms a protective
silica (SiO2) coating.

It must be emphasized that passivity is a

relative term.

A stainless steel may exhibit passive behavior

in nitric acid and in water, but it would be
attacked by strong hydrochloric acid.

In other words, a metal or alloy is passive or

active only in relation to particular
environments.

NATURAL (METAL-CORROSIVE) COMBINATIONS:

The maximum amount of corrosion resistance

for the least amount of money:
Stainless steels - nitric acid.
Nickel and nickel alloys caustic soda.
Monel hydrofluoric acid.
Hastelloys (Chromites) hot hydrochloric
acid.

Lead dilute sulfuric acid.

Aluminum no staining atmospheric
exposure.
Tin distilled water
Titanium hot strong oxidizing solutions.
Tantalum ultimate resistance.
Steel concentrated sulfuric acid.

Tantalum is resistant to most acids at all

concentrations and temperatures and is
generally used under conditions where
minimal corrosion is required, such as
implants in human body.
Both tantalum and glass are resistant to
virtually all mediums except hydrofluoric
acid and caustic solutions.

Manufacturers of glass-lined equipment use

tantalum plugs to seal defects since this
material matches the resistance of glass.
For reducing or non-oxidizing environments,
such as air-free acids and aqueous solutions,
nickel, copper, and their alloys are employed.

For
oxidizing
conditions,
containing alloys are used.

chromium-

For extremely powerful oxidizing conditions,

titanium and its alloys have shown superior
resistance.

METAL PURIFICATION
Pure metals are usually expensive and
relatively soft and weak, but more
corrosion resistant.
Pure aluminum (99.5%+) is used for handling
hydrogen peroxide, where the presence of
other elements may cause decomposition
because of catalytic effects.

Arc-melted zirconium is more resistant than

induction-melted zirconium because of more
impurities in the latter. Therefore, it is used in
an atomic-energy applications where a little
corrosion is too much.

NON-METALLICS
Rubber, natural and synthetic.
Plastics.
Ceramics.
Carbon and graphite.
Wood.

Rubbers and plastics, as compared with

metals and alloys, are much weaker, softer,
more resistant to chloride ions and HCl, less
resistant to strong sulfuric acid and oxidizing
acids such as nitric, less resistant to solvents,
and have relatively low temperature
limitations (170 oF to 200 oF for most).

Ceramics possess excellent corrosion and

high-temperature resistant.
Carbon show good corrosion resistance,
electrical and heat conductivity, but they are
fragile.
Wood is attacked by aggressive environments.

ALTERATION OF ENVIRONMENT
** Changing Mediums:
Lowering temperature, decreasing velocity,
removing oxygen or oxidizers and changing
concentration.
Boiling seawater is less corrosive than hot
seawater because of the decrease in oxygen
solubility with temperature.

Metals and alloys that passivate (e.g., st.st.),

generally have better resistance to flowing
mediums than stagnant solutions.
Very high velocities cause erosion-corrosion
effects.

Nickel-molybdenum alloys (Hastelloy B,

chlorimet 2) posses excellent resistance in
pure hydrochloric acid.
HCl containing ferric chloride as an oxidizer
impurity (called muriatic acid), rapidly
corrodes nickel-molybdenum alloys.
Dearation is not recommended for activepassive metals or alloys.

Decreasing corrosive concentration is usually

effective.
Many acids such as H2SO4 and H3PO4 are
virtually inert at high concentrations at
moderate temperatures.

INHIBITORS:
Adsorption-Type Inhibitors:
These are organic compounds which
adsorbed on the metal surface and suppress
metal dissolution and reduction reactions.
They affect both the anodic and cathodic
processes. (organic amines).

Hydrogen-Evolution Poisons:
Arsenic and antimony ions, retard the
hydrogen-evolution reaction.
They are effective in acid solutions but are
ineffective in environments where other
reduction processes such as oxygen reduction
are the controlling cathodic reactions.

Scavengers:
These substances act by removing corrosive
reagents from solution.
Na2SO3 + O2 2Na2SO4
N2H4 + O2 N2 + 2H2O
Sodium sulfate and hydrazine will not be
effective in strong acid solution, because
oxygen reduction is not the controlling
corrosion cathodic reaction.

Oxidizers:
They inhibit the corrosion of metals and
alloys that demonstrate active-passive
transitions (i.e., iron and its alloys and
stainless steels).
Chromate, nitrate and ferric salts are
oxidizers inhibitors.

Vapor-Phase Inhibitors:
They are usually used in closed spaces such as
inside packages or on the interior of
machinery during shipment, because they are
transferred by sublimation and condensation
to the metal surface.

Inhibitors should be added in excess and their

concentration checked periodically, because
less inhibiting agents accelerate corrosion.
When two or more inhibiting substances are
added to a corrosive system, the inhibiting
effect is sometimes greater than that which
would be achieved by either of the two (or
more) substances alone. This is called a
synergistic effect.

Many inhibitors are toxic, and their

application is limited to those mediums that
will not be used directly or indirectly in the
preparation of food or other products that
will come in contact with humans.
Arsenic salts exert a powerful inhibiting
effect in strong acids, but toxic.
Inhibitors generally rapidly loss their
effectiveness as the concentration and
temperature of the environment increase.

Design
Mechanical design of a component should be
based on the material of construction.
** Wall Thickness
The wall thickness is usually made twice the
thickness that would give the desired life, to
allow for some variation in the depth of
penetration during uniform corrosion, which
is not always uniform.

The wall thickness must meet mechanical

requirements such as pressure, weight, and
stress considerations.
The bottom portion may have more corrosion
allowance than the upper.
Weld rather than rivet tanks and other
containers to avoid crevice corrosion.

Design tanks and other containers for easy

draining and easy cleaning.
(steel tank H2SO4 +air
moisture dilution rapid attack).

adsorb

Design systems for easy replacement of

components that are expected to fail rapidly
in service.

Avoid excessive mechanical stresses in

components exposed to corrosive mediums to
avoid stress-corrosion cracking.
Avoid galvanic electrical contact between
dissimilar metals to prevent galvanic
corrosion.

Avoid sharp bends in piping systems when

high velocities and/or solids in suspension are
involved to avoid erosion-corrosion cracks.
Provide thicker structures to take care of
impingement effects.
Make sure materials are properly selected.
Avoid spots during heat-transfer operations
to avoid local heating and high corrosion
rates and stress-corrosion failures.

Design to exclude air, except for activepassive metals and alloys, such as stainless
steel and titanium.
Avoid heterogeneity: Dissimilar metals, vapor
spaces, uneven heat and stress distributions.