Usage of Surfactants As corrosion Inhibitors

Field Of The Invention:-

The present invention relates to providing steel and zinc- treated steel mill
products with protection against corrosion during fabrication shipping and
storage as well as enhanced lubricit!"
#ac$ground Of The Invention:-
Steel including zinc-treated steel is sub%ect to corrosion during storage and
transportation" &orrosion can cause such steel to be sold at distressed prices
and thus adversel! a'ect steel mill economics" &orrosion-inhibiting
formulations commonl! used to minimize such economic losses utilize
$erosene- or other oil-based solutions which ma$e for ver! mess! operating
conditions" (oreover such formulations are environmentall! undesirable
because of their h!drocarbon content) i"e" The! are *ammable and the!
contribute to both air and water pollution" In addition it ma! be necessar! to
remove such corrosion inhibitors before +nal processing steps are carried out
in the steel mill thereb! adding e,pense to the process" -nown water-based
formulations reduce or eliminate the water and air pollution and *ammabilit!
concerns of and can be more readil! removed than oil-based corrosion
inhibitors"
.owever $nown water-based corrosion inhibitors t!picall! do not provide
enough corrosion protection and the! ma! contain environmentall!
undesirable zinc salts and metal chromates" Attempts have also been made
to replace oil-based formulations used in stamping mills with dr! coatings
however dr! coatings are not readil! removed thus ma$ing it di/cult and
e,pensive to paint or carr! out other processing of steel surfaces"
#rief Summar! Of The Invention:-
The present invention relates to compositions and processes which provide
steel with protection against corrosion during fabrication shipping and
storage" The compositions and processes of this invention additionall!
provide enough lubricit! during normal mill fabrication operations that one
application thereof eliminates the need for application of various mill oils for
e,ample those used for tempering operations 0tempering is a process which
involves sub%ecting long steel sheets to great pressure and stress via cold
rolling using rolls running at di'erential rates of speed in e,cess of 1222
feet3minute4" The compositions of this invention not onl! remain on the steel
and perform as anti-corrosion and lubricating agents during routine
treatments of steel such as tempering and stamping but will remain on the
steel and function as an anti- corrosion agents during shipment to customers
as well thus eliminating the need for application of an! shipping oil"
5etailed 5escription Of The Invention:-
The compositions of the present invention comprise a surfactant and a al$!l
acid phosphate which when applied together provide superior corrosion
protection on steel surfaces including but not limited to mild steel and zinc-
treated steel surfaces" Optionall! the composition additionall! contains
dodecen!lsuccinic acid 055SA4 and3or one or more other carbo,!lic acids
having both a h!drophilic end and a h!drophobic end" The compositions of
this invention can be applied to steel with or without neutralization" For
e,ample it can be advantageous to neutralize the compositions before
appl!ing them to zinc-coated steel" On the other hand one can appl! the
compositions to mild steel without neutralization" In a preferred embodiment
the compositions of this invention are prepared and applied to steel surfaces
as a6ueous formulations" The compositions of this invention provide superior
corrosion protection under normal and humid storage conditions when
compared to that provided b! an! of the individual components of the
composition" The compositions of the present invention shows other
advantages including absence of zinc or chromate salts commonl!
associated with anti-corrosion agents" The compositions also can be prepared
and applied to steel in the absence of signi+cant volatile organic solvents
such as $erosene) the! are non-*ammable and readil! removable b! a
detergent wash before further processing such as phosphate surface
treatment and painting" The compositions of this invention are e'ective at
low surface loading rates compared with conventional coatings such as
petroleum-based Ship Oils thereb! providing economic advantages during
application and greatl! reduced waste disposal when the protective coating
must be washed o'" A further aspect of this invention is an increase in
lubricit! for the surface which reduces or eliminates the need for of an!
other lubricant for metal processing"
The surfactants useful for the present invention ma! be anionic cationic
non-ionic or mi,tures thereof preferabl! nonionic
surfactants" 7on-ionic surfactants preferabl! have .8# values between 9":
and 19 0;The .8# S!stem< published b! I&I America;s Inc" =ilmington
5elaware4" >,amples of surfactants are given in but not limited to those
disclosed in Table 1" The al$!l phosphates useful for the purposes of this
invention are those of the general formula:
0?O4m-@-024-0O.4A wherein
? is an al$!l group having B to C2 carbon atoms) m is 1 or C and n is 9 - n"
One can also use mi,tures of such al$!l phosphates" In an embodiment one
uses al$!l phosphates wherein ? is 122D &EF- In a preferred embodiment
one uses a mi,ture of al$!l phosphates wherein ? is a mi,ture of &g through
&i "
In one embodiment of the invention the surfactant and al$!lphosphate are
mi,ed in water in a ratio b! weight of from 12:1 to 1:12 0surfactant :
al$!lphosphate4 preferabl! in a ratio of about 1"::1 to 9:1 to form an
a6ueous emulsion" The surfactant and al$!l phosphate can be added to the
water se6uentiall! or simultaneousl! at an! concentration level which
supports the formation of the emulsion in water" A single phase solution after
mi,ing is indicative of the formation of the emulsion" The emulsion is
ad%usted with base to a p. of from G to 12 preferabl! from G": to H and most
preferabl! from I to I":" An al$ali metal h!dro,ide such as -O. can be used
but an! base which does not interfere with the formation or stabilit! of the
emulsion can be used e"g" 8iO. 7aO. or ammonia" The emulsion can be
diluted further with water to a +nal concentration for application to a metal
surface" It is preferable to neutralize with an amine rather than an inorganic
base" An amine can be added to the a6ueous solution of the surfactant and
al$!l phosphate" The amine ma! be a primar! secondar! or tertiar! amine
chosen from al$!lamines al$anol amines or aromatic al$!l amines" An amine
containing a h!drophobic group appears to be the most e'ective" A preferred
amine is 77-dimeth!lc!clohe,!lamine" >,amples of other amines are given
in but not limited to Table C" The a6ueous emulsion comprising the
neutralized al$!l phosphate surfactant and optionall! the amine provides
e'ective corrosion protection to steel surfaces"
So as to achieve ade6uate corrosion inhibition it is necessar! at minimum to
completel! cover the surface of the steel with the compositions of this
invention) an! incompletel! covered areas will corrode" The upper limit to the
amount of the compositions applied to the steel surface is controlled b! cost
constraints and practical limits as to the amount of material that can be
applied to the surface" There is a point after which additional material is not
bene+cial in further inhibiting corrosion" It is advantageous from a material
and cost standpoint to coat the steel surface at the lowest level practical
which provides corrosion protection under the conditions of interest
0temperature and humidit!4" This can be readil! determined b! visual
observation" (i,tures of surfactant and neutralized al$!l phosphate are
e'ective in inhibiting corrosion on steel surfaces at application rates of from 1
mg3ftC to 1222 mg3ftC" In another embodiment of the present invention
dodecen!lsuccinic acid 055SA4 is added to the mi,ture of surfactant and
al$!lphosphate with or without neutralization in a concentration of : to B2
percent b! weight relative to the combined amounts of surfactant and
al$!lphosphate" 55SA greatl! improves the corrosion-preventing properties of
the combination of the surfactant and al$!lphosphate on zinc-treated steel
under humid conditions"
In !et another embodiment of the present invention another carbo,!lic acid
is added to a mi,ture of the surfactant al$!l phosphate and 55SA in addition
to or in place of 55SA" That additional carbo,!lic acid can be added with or
without neutralizing said mi,ture" The carbo,!lic acid used in this
embodiment is a long chain h!drocarbon acid with a h!drophilic and
h!drophobic end for e,ample a fatt! acid a branched al$!l carbo,!lic acid a
dimer acid and mi,tures thereof 0hereinafter referred to as <h!drophilic-
h!drophobic acids<4) speci+c e,amples include oleic acid lauric acid stearic
acid sebacic acid adipic acid the &Jg unsaturated acids of the >,amples
and the li$e" The h!drophilic-h!drophobic acid is added at a concentration of
from 92D to 112D b! weight based on the combined weight of surfactant
and al$!l phosphate" The resulting composition can be neutralized with
inorganic base or an amine and further diluted prior to application to the
metal surface"
The addition of a combination of 55SA and a h!drophilic- h!drophobic acid to
the mi,ture of surfactant and neutralized al$!lphosphate provides the most
e'ective corrosion protection for zinc- treated steel surfaces particularl!
under high humidit! conditions" That mi,ture is e'ective in inhibiting
corrosion on zinc-coated steel surfaces at application rates of from 1 mg3ftC
to 1222 mg3ftC" (i,tures of the surfactant 55SA and fatt! acids3amine
without the al$!l phosphate give much lower corrosion protection"
@referabl! the compositions of this invention are prepared in water and
applied to steel as an a6ueous composition" Thus for e,ample the use of an
a6ueous composition for application to steel is advantageous because the
presence of water lowers the viscosit! of the composition ma$ing it easier to
appl! it to steel also because the presence of water helps to control
application rates" On the other hand it is possible to prepare and appl! the
compositions neat 0i"e" no solvent or other li6uid medium4" If prepared neat
these compositions optionall! can be diluted with water for application to the
metal surface"
The compositions of the present invention can be applied to the surfaces of
manufactured steel or galvanized steel sheet or stoc$ or the li$e b! dipping
spra!ing or other appropriate methods and the steel dried b! air %ets or other
appropriate method prior to conventional storage and transportation" The
treated steel is well protected from ambient moisture either as li6uid water
or as ambient humidit! during storage and transportation" 5epending on the
subse6uent processing removal of the corrosion protection ma! be
necessar! for instance prior to plating painting or surface coating" The
corrosion inhibitors of this invention can be readil! removed from the treated
steel surfaces b! washing with a solution of an appropriate al$aline surfactant
in water" The corrosion inhibiting compositions of this invention also impart
enough lubricit! to the metal surface that no additional surface treatment is
necessar! prior to other mill operations such as tempering or stamping"