Electrochemical study of stainless steels used in an oil company by electrochemical impedance

Localized corrosion is a serious problem for stainless steel exposed in a chloride solution. In this context, the present work concerns the study of electrochemical behavior of 316 (A and B) and 430 (C and D) stainless steels, where A and C are laboratory steels, while steels B and D were taken from heat exchangers tubes (after 10 years of operation). This study has addressed three different aqueous environments: (1) monoethanolamine (MEA) 15%, (2) natural seawater (NSW), and (3) NaCl 3%, using the technique of potentiodynamic polarization curve complemented by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The obtained experimental electrochemical parameters (E(corn) J(corn) E(r), C(d), R(tc), and constant phase element) were used to compare the corrosion resistance of the tested steels. As a result, the nobility of these steels in NaCl 3% and in MEA 15% solutions is established in the following order: 316 (A) > 316 (B) > 430 (C) > 430 (D), where E(r) moves increasingly toward the positive direction, indicating a good protection against corrosion. In addition, the results show that the effect of the electrolyte (aggression) is characterized by increased corrosion potential and a decrease in the passivity domain for all samples. The hierarchy of the nobility of steels A and C in these electrolytes can be determined as follows: MEA 15% > NSW > NaCl 3%.