Uniform corrosion environment

The formation of anodic and cathodic sites, necessary to produce corrosion, can occur for any of a number of reasons impurities in the metal, localized stresses, metal grain size or composition differences, discontinuities on the surface, and differences in the local environment (eg, temperature, oxygen, or salt concentration). When these local differences are not large and the anodic and cathodic sites can shift from place to place on the metal surface, corrosion is uniform. With uniform corrosion, fouling is usually a more serious problem than equipment failure. 

A uniform coating of calcium carbonate deposited on the metal surfaces physically segregates the metal from the corrosive environment. To develop the positive LSI required to deposit calcium carbonate, it is usually necessary to adjust the pH or calcium content of the water. Soda ash, caustic soda, or lime (calcium hydroxide) may be used for this adjustment. Lime is usually the most economical alkaH because it raises the calcium content as weU as the alkalinity. 

Atmospheric exposure, fresh and salt waters, and many types of soil can cause uniform corrosion of copper aHoys. The relative ranking of aHoys for resistance to general corrosion depends strongly on environment and is relatively independent of temper. Atmospheric corrosion, the least damaging of the various forms of corrosion, is generaHy predictable from weight loss data obtained from exposure to various environments (31) (see Corrosion and CORROSION CONTKOL). 

The most common form of corrosion is uniform corrosion, in which the entire metal surface degrades at a near uniform rate (1 3). Often the surface is covered by the corrosion products. The msting of iron (qv) in a humid atmosphere or the tarnishing of copper (qv) or silver alloys in sulfur-containing environments are examples (see also SiLVERAND SILVER ALLOYS). High temperature, or dry, oxidation, is also usually uniform in character. Uniform corrosion, the most visible form of corrosion, is the least insidious because the weight lost by metal dissolution can be monitored and predicted. 

Uniform corrosion is the deterioration of a metal surface that occurs uniformly across the material. It occurs primarily when the surface is in contact with an aqueous environment, which results in a chemical reaction between the metal and the service environment. Since this form of corrosion results in a relatively uniform degradation of apparatus material, it can be accounted for most readily at the time the equipment is designed, either by proper material selection, special coatings or linings, or increased wall thicknesses. 

In this section the interaction of a metal with its aqueous environment will be considered from the viewpoint Of thermodynamics and electrode kinetics, and in order to simplify the discussion it will be assumed that the metal is a homogeneous continuum, and no account will be taken of submicroscopic, microscopic and macroscopic heterogeneities, which are dealt with elsewhere see Sections 1.3 and 20.4). Furthermore, emphasis will be placed on uniform corrosion since localised attack is considered in Section 1.6. 

In practice, pitting of nickel and nickel alloys may be encountered if the corrosive environment contains chloride or other aggressive ions and is more liable to develop in acidic than in neutral or alkaline solutions. In acidic solutions containing high concentrations of chloride, however, passivity is likely to break down completely and corrosion to proceed more or less uniformly over the surface. For this reason nickel and those nickel alloys which rely on passivity for their corrosion resistance are not resistant to HCl. 

Almost all new metallic surfaces exposed to the environment are sooner or later coated with a layer of corrosion products metal oxides, sulfides, and carbonates, for example, are common corrosion products formed when a metal or alloy interacts with contaminants in the environment. If the layer is continuous and stable, as in uniform corrosion, it may conceal the underlying metal from further exposure and protect it from additional corrosion if it is discontinuous, or chemically unstable, however, the metal surface below the initial layer of corrosion products remains in contact with the environment. Exposed to humidity and pollutants, the corrosion process continues, penetrating deeper into the metallic bulk and eventually resulting in its total destruction. 

Dissolution of steel or zinc in sulfuric or hydrochloric acid is a typical example of uniform electrochemical attack. Steel and copper alloys are more vulnerable to general corrosion than other alloys. Uniform corrosion often results from atmospheric exposure (polluted industrial environments) exposure in fresh, brackish, and salt waters or exposure in soils and chemicals. The rusting of steel, the green patina on copper, tarnishing silver and white mst on zinc on atmospheric exposure are due to uniform corrosion.14... 

The most common way to report uniform corrosion is in terms of metal thickness loss per unit of time, such as inches per year or millimeters per year. Because uniform corrosion is predictable, even moderately high corrosion rates can be tolerated provided a suitable monitoring and inspection system is utilized. For most chemical process systems, general corrosion rates of less than 2 mils per year (MPY) are acceptable. Rates between 2 and 20 MPY (Imil = 0.001 in.) are routinely accepted as useful engineering materials. In severe environments, rates between 20 and 50 MPY may be economically justified. Rates exceeding 50 MPY are generally not acceptable. 

Uniform corrosion usually occurs in fairly aggressive environments that attack the whole surface. Examples include carbon steel in seawater or acids, or aluminum alloys in strong alkali. The rate of metal loss is usually rather high, but, because it is distributed over the whole surface, the performance can usually be predicted, and managed with corrosion allowances, in most situations. Thus, sheet steel piling is often used in seawater without any corrosion protection, the corrosion rate of around 0.1 mm/yr, coupled with the relatively thick steel sections, giving an acceptable life. 

Prevention— Uniform corrosion can be prevented or reduced by (1) the proper choice of metal for a given environment (2) the use of metal coatings, such as a paint coating or nonoxidizing organic inhibitors (e.g., benzotriazole or organic amines [160]) in solution that adsorb onto and protect the metal surface or (3) cathodic protection (discussed below). 

The law (2) represents the behaviour of a system containing only two elementary processes controlled by the activation energy [21]. Its importance, however, is connected with the experimental observation that it satisfactorily describes the kinetics of a very large class of electrochemical systems. This is particularly true of metals and alloys of technological interest that are subject to uniform corrosion in a great number of aggressive environments. 

Uniform corrosion is defined as a corrosion process with a uniform metal dissolution rate over the entire metal surface exposed to the corrosive environment. The result is a uniform loss of the metal, which leads to a smooth reduction of thickness. However, the uniformity of the corrosion attack depends on the observation technique. For instance, an electron... 

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