Pitting corrosion on highly alloyed stainless steels in dilute sulphuric acid containing sodium chloride

Abstract

Stainless steels are widely used in industrial assets and equipment. Despite their good corrosion resistance under a wide range of operating conditions, there is the possibility of pitting corrosion in the presence of chlorides. However, very few studies have identified the safe operating conditions for various high-alloyed stainless steel grades by comparing their pitting susceptibility. In this research, the susceptibility to pitting attack of five stainless steels with austenitic and duplex microstructures was examined in dilute sulphuric acid solution with varying amounts of NaCl at the temperatures of 50, 90 and 130°C. Based on potentiodynamic polarization scans, none of the test materials underwent pitting corrosion at 50°C, but differences in susceptibility to pitting attack were clear between the test materials and NaCl concentrations at the temperature of 90°C, and further temperature increase facilitated uniform corrosion. 28-day immersion tests at 90°C confirmed the pitting susceptibility of duplex grades 1.4662 (PREN 33) and 1.4462 (PREN 35) in the presence of at least 2000 mg/L NaCl, but not the susceptibility of a corresponding austenitic grade 1.4539 (PREN 34). The grades 1.4547 (PREN 43) and 1.4410 (PREN 44) were not susceptible to pitting corrosion under any of the studied conditions. The results from materials microstructural and electrochemical characterization are presented and discussed in this paper.