Adsorption and performance of the 2-mercaptobenzimidazole as a carbon steel corrosion inhibitor in EDTA solutions

Abstract

This study presents a thermodynamic analysis of the adsorption and anti-corrosion performance of 2-mercaptobenzimidazole (2-MBI) on carbon steel in EDTA-Na2 solutions. The adsorption of the inhibitor on the metal surface was studied as a function of the concentration of the inhibiting species and the temperature of the system. The corrosion inhibition efficiency was studied by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and mass loss tests. The results show that the adsorption of the inhibitor onto the metal surface behaves according to the Langmuir model, following an endothermic process. The inhibitor is chemically adsorbed onto the carbon steel surface. The efficiency of corrosion inhibition was above 93%, which was confirmed by both mass loss tests and the electrochemical impedance technique. The good performance of the corrosion inhibitor was maintained up to 24 h after the inhibitor was added to the corrosive EDTA-Na2 solutions. When the ratio of the volume of solution/exposed area was reduced, a decrease in the area covered by the inhibitor was observed. The best cost/benefit ratio for the corrosion protection of carbon steel was obtained when the number of moles of the inhibitor per surface area was maintained at 2.68 mmol cm−2.