Corrosion Behaviour of 316L Stainless Steel in Hot Dilute Sulphuric Acid Solution with Sulphate and NaCl

Abstract

The corrosion behaviour of 316L stainless steel (316L SS) in 10% H₂SO₄ solution (94°C) with various concentrations of NaCl (0–0.085 mol/L) was studied by immersion corrosion test and polarization methods, combined with SEM/EDS, XPS and XRD tests. The influence of NaCl on the corrosion of 316L SS was investigated. The results showed that at lower NaCl contents (0–0.0085 mol/L), the steel presented a general corrosion characteristic with a higher corrosion speed and the corrosion rate increased with the NaCl content. At higher NaCl contents (≥0.017 mol/L), the corrosion rate decreased remarkably due to the protective corrosion products precipitation which contained metallic sulphates and NaHSO₄. However, the higher concentration of chloride ions caused micron pitting-like local dissolution on the surface. The addition of Na₂SO₄ effectively inhibited general corrosion of the steel because of a dense and continuous products layer enriched with more NaHSO₄ and metallic sulphates formed.