Pitting corrosion of austenitic and duplex stainless steels in dilute acids at elevated temperature: Effect of electrolyte chemistry and material microstructure

Andressa Trentin; Ahmad Mardoukhi; Aloshious Lambai; Pekka Pohjanne; Elina Huttunen-Saarivirta

doi:10.1016/j.corsci.2025.112769

Pitting corrosion of austenitic and duplex stainless steels in dilute acids at elevated temperature: Effect of electrolyte chemistry and material microstructure

Andressa Trentin^*, Ahmad Mardoukhi, Aloshious Lambai, Pekka Pohjanne, Elina Huttunen-Saarivirta

^*Corresponding author for this work

Metso Research Center

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)

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Abstract

The pitting behavior of seven stainless steel grades with austenitic and duplex microstructures in varying acids (HCl, H2SO4, HCOOH), chloride concentrations (500–5000 mg/L), and pHs (2.5, 4.0) was investigated at 90°C. Low- and intermediate-PREN grades were prone to pitting under the test conditions. The electrolyte ranking by pitting susceptibility was HCl > H2SO4 > HCOOH, while the progress of pitting attack in materials followed the reverse order: HCOOH > H2SO4 > HCl. The presence of a lacy cover prevents repassivation favoring a concentric "Russian doll" structure and high loss rates. The mechanisms of pitting propagation are presented in this paper.

Original language	English
Article number	112769
Journal	Corrosion Science
Volume	247
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.corsci.2025.112769
Publication status	Published - May 2025
MoE publication type	A1 Journal article-refereed

Funding

The financial support by Business Finland (funding decision 264/31/2022), the following companies: Andritz Oy, Exote Oy, Neste Oyj, Nordic Tank Oy, Metso Oyj, Wärtsilä Finland Oy, and VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd through the MASCOT project is gratefully acknowledged.

Keywords

Lacy cover
Microstructure
Pitting corrosion
Stainless steel

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Cite this

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title = "Pitting corrosion of austenitic and duplex stainless steels in dilute acids at elevated temperature: Effect of electrolyte chemistry and material microstructure",

abstract = "The pitting behavior of seven stainless steel grades with austenitic and duplex microstructures in varying acids (HCl, H2SO4, HCOOH), chloride concentrations (500–5000 mg/L), and pHs (2.5, 4.0) was investigated at 90°C. Low- and intermediate-PREN grades were prone to pitting under the test conditions. The electrolyte ranking by pitting susceptibility was HCl > H2SO4 > HCOOH, while the progress of pitting attack in materials followed the reverse order: HCOOH > H2SO4 > HCl. The presence of a lacy cover prevents repassivation favoring a concentric {"}Russian doll{"} structure and high loss rates. The mechanisms of pitting propagation are presented in this paper.",

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T1 - Pitting corrosion of austenitic and duplex stainless steels in dilute acids at elevated temperature: Effect of electrolyte chemistry and material microstructure

AU - Trentin, Andressa

AU - Mardoukhi, Ahmad

AU - Lambai, Aloshious

AU - Pohjanne, Pekka

AU - Huttunen-Saarivirta, Elina

PY - 2025/5

Y1 - 2025/5

N2 - The pitting behavior of seven stainless steel grades with austenitic and duplex microstructures in varying acids (HCl, H2SO4, HCOOH), chloride concentrations (500–5000 mg/L), and pHs (2.5, 4.0) was investigated at 90°C. Low- and intermediate-PREN grades were prone to pitting under the test conditions. The electrolyte ranking by pitting susceptibility was HCl > H2SO4 > HCOOH, while the progress of pitting attack in materials followed the reverse order: HCOOH > H2SO4 > HCl. The presence of a lacy cover prevents repassivation favoring a concentric "Russian doll" structure and high loss rates. The mechanisms of pitting propagation are presented in this paper.

AB - The pitting behavior of seven stainless steel grades with austenitic and duplex microstructures in varying acids (HCl, H2SO4, HCOOH), chloride concentrations (500–5000 mg/L), and pHs (2.5, 4.0) was investigated at 90°C. Low- and intermediate-PREN grades were prone to pitting under the test conditions. The electrolyte ranking by pitting susceptibility was HCl > H2SO4 > HCOOH, while the progress of pitting attack in materials followed the reverse order: HCOOH > H2SO4 > HCl. The presence of a lacy cover prevents repassivation favoring a concentric "Russian doll" structure and high loss rates. The mechanisms of pitting propagation are presented in this paper.

KW - Lacy cover

KW - Microstructure

KW - Pitting corrosion

KW - Stainless steel

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DO - 10.1016/j.corsci.2025.112769

M3 - Article

SN - 0010-938X

VL - 247

JO - Corrosion Science

JF - Corrosion Science

M1 - 112769

ER -

Pitting corrosion of austenitic and duplex stainless steels in dilute acids at elevated temperature: Effect of electrolyte chemistry and material microstructure

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