Corrosion for Engineers Chapter 1: Cost of Corrosion Dr. Derek H. Lister page 1-14 WHAT IS CORROSION? Usually: reaction of a metal with its environment e.g. rusting of iron: 4 Fe +30,+2H20 >4FeOOH (lepidocrocite) BUT _high temperature corrosion of iron: 3 Fe + 4H,0 —> Fe30, (magnetite) + 4H2 Sometimes, non-metals are said to corrode e.g. degradation of graphite moderator in a CO reactor (nuclear) C + COz-> 2CO (may be inhibited by addition of CH,) Discussion: ¢ Other examples of metal corrosion? Do buildings corrode (brick, stone, concrete)? What about erosion? - is it a corrosion phenomenon? Can corrosion be desirable? Other types of corrosion (e.g., plastic, wood, etc.)? Thiversity of New Brunswick, Canada Chulalongkom University, ThalandCorrosion for Engineers Chapter 1: Cost of Corrosion Dr. Derek H. Lister page 1-2 CORROSION IS A SPONTANEOUS PROCESS: Energy is released as material proceeds towards “natural” state ie. the thermodynamically stable state. Thus, rusting of iron is a reversion towards the (hydrated - usually) ore; e.g., if lepidocrocite is dehydrated, we get: 2Fe OOH — Fe203; (haematite) + H20 Corrosion, especially of metals, is usually an oxidative process - the metal loses electrons: e.g., 4Cut O2 > 2Cu,0 | 2n +2HCl > /ZnCh+He metal Oxidation states? ion oxidation states? University of New Brunswick, Canada Chulafongkom University, ThailandCorrosion for Engineers Chapter 1: Cost of Corrosion Dr. Derek H. Lister page 1-3 CORROSION IS A SPONTANEOUS PROCESS (continued) Regard such oxidations as two separate reactions occurring simultaneously e.g. for metal M: M > M*+Ze (oxidation) z z Ze te O71 > 106 (reduction) 4 2 Zz M+ --Q. > MOz2 (combined) 4 Therefore: Zn > Zn+2e 2HCI + 2e > Hz + 2Cr what is the reduced species? Tniversity of New Brunswick, Canada Chulalongkorn University, Thalland