TITLE:
Corrosion Behavior of Mild Steel and SS 304L in Presence of Dissolved Copper
AUTHORS:
M. Mobin, Hina Shabnam
KEYWORDS:
Mild steel; SS 304L; corrosion; copper ions; immersion tests; electrochemical tests
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Minerals and Materials Characterization and Engineering,
Vol.9 No.12,
December
20,
2010
ABSTRACT: The failure of steel components in multistage flash (MSF) desalination or power plants as a
result of the deposition of carryover heavy metals/oxides is a common problem and reported by
many authors. The present investigation was undertaken to study the corrosion behavior of mild
steel and AISI 304L SS in presence of dissolved Cu ions under different experimental conditions.
The experimental conditions include: variation in aqueous medium, Cu ion concentration, pH
and flow condition. The corrosion rate of mild steel and SS 304L in presence of different
concentration of Cu was determined by weight loss measurements and solvent analysis of iron
ions into the test solution after completion of immersion. The amount of Cu ions present in the
test solution after completion of immersion was also estimated using Atomic absorption
spectrophotometer. The pH of the test solution was monitored during the entire period of
immersion. Electrochemical techniques like free corrosion potential measurements and
potentiodynamic polarization measurements were carried to find out the role of Cu ions on the
corrosion behavior of mild steel and SS 304L. The effect of Cu on corrosion rate of mild steel is
quite pronounced and follows interesting trend. However, SS 304L is not affected either in
distilled water or artificial seawater and do not show any significant variation in corrosion rates
in presence of Cu ions.