Corrosion of the Materials in Sulfuric Acid

Abstract

A program for a hydrogen production by using a high temperature nuclear heat has been launched in Korea since 2004. Iodine sulfur (IS) process is one of the promising processes for a hydrogen production because it does not generate carbon dioxide and a massive hydrogen production may be possible. However, the highly corrosive environment of the process is a barrier to its application in the industry. Therefore, corrosion behaviors of various materials were evaluated in sulfuric acid to select appropriate materials compatible with the IS process. The materials used in this work were Ni based alloys, Fe–Si alloys, Ta, Au, Pt, Zr, SiC, and so on. The test environments were boiling 50 wt % sulfuric acid without/with HI as an impurity and 98 wt % sulfuric acid. The surface morphologies and cross-sectional areas of the corroded materials were examined by using the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) equipped with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). From the results of the weight loss and potentiodynamic experiments, it was found that a Si enriched oxide is attributable to a corrosion resistance for materials including Si in boiling 98 wt % sulfuric acid. Moreover, the passive Si enriched film thickness increased with the immersion time leading to an enhancement of the corrosion resistance. Corrosion behaviors of the material tested are discussed in terms of the chemical composition of the materials, the corrosion morphology, and the surface layer’s composition.