Module 8, Objective 1

Corrosion, Rate and Cost

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Corrosion – What is it?
• “The chemical or electrochemical reaction between a material and its
environment.”
• The reaction causes a deterioration of the material.

• In metals, that will be the oxidation of the metal.

Example, iron or steel: Fe → Fe2+ + 2e-

• The environment is reduced to cause that oxidation reaction.

Example, oxygenated water: O2 + 2H20 + 4e- → 4OH-

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 Corrosion Requirements
• Corrosion is an electrochemical process, so has the same four
requirements as an electrochemical cell.
1. Anode A location for the oxidation reaction, turning metal into metal ions.
➢ A more reactive metal (ex: Zn)
2. Cathode A location for the reduction reaction, probably the reaction between
➢ A more passive metal (ex: Cu) oxygen and water.
3. Electrical connection → electron path
➢ A metal connection (ex: a wire) Or just the metal itself (ex: a piece of steel acting
as both the anode and the cathode)
4. Electrolyte connection → ion path
No need for a salt bridge if the piece is
➢ A fluid path for the ions (ex: salt bridge)
sitting in water!
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 Corrosion Rate
Reminder: Fe → Fe2+ + 2e-
• The iron is changing from a solid Fe metal to dissolved Fe2+ ions (rust).
• The oxidation number is changing from 0 to +2 (increasing = oxidation).
• For every atom of iron that is being oxidized, there is a current flow of 2e-.
• The amount of iron that has been corroded is directly proportional to the number of
electrons in the corrosion current.

➢ Current is a measure of our corrosion rate!

(Ohm’s law) E=IxR → I=E/R

• Current (I) can be reduced by reducing voltage (E) or increasing resistance (R)
• Reducing current = reducing corrosion!
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 Reducing Corrosion Rate
Corrosion rate depends on voltage and resistance…
• Cell potential (voltage) and resistance can be affected in many ways.

Six ways to affect corrosion rate:

1) Localized anodes and cathodes
2) Nature of the environment (dissolved solids, pH, O2 content)
3) Resistance between the anode and the cathode
4) Anode to cathode ratio
Each targets one of the four requirements:
5) Higher temperature 1. Anode
2. Cathode
6) Change in fluid velocity 3. Electrical connection → electron path
4. Electrolyte connection → ion path

Unimportant Note: The order presented here differs slightly from your module. Some have been shuffled around, but only “8. Polarization behavior” has been omitted.
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1) Localized Anodes and Cathodes
• If a steel bar is corroding, it corrodes everywhere.
• The anode (oxidation) moves around, finding the slightly higher reactivity locations,
then moving on to a new location.
• There is no “localized” anode and cathode, so corrosion is spread out

• If a piece of zinc and a piece of copper are bolted together, what happens?
• Only the zinc corrodes, since it is more reactive. Copper is the cathode.
• The anode is “localized” to the zinc, so it will lose metal faster!
• Caused by a potential (voltage) difference between different materials or regions on
the same material.
• If the difference is less than 0.3 V then the corrosion is usually minimal.

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 2) Nature of the environment
a) Higher concentration of dissolved solids (ex: salt)
• Is salt water more corrosive? What does salt on the road do to your car?
• More dissolved ions in the water increases the ionic conductivity of the solution
• Better electrolyte = lower resistance = higher current = increased corrosion rate!
• Certain dissolved solids (ex: chlorides) can also interfere with the formation of
surface films
• Ex: chlorides breaking down oxide layers in stainless steels (and normal steel too!)

b) Lower pH solutions O2 + 2H20 + 4e- → 4OH- (0.40V)

O2 + 4H+ + 4e- → 2H2O (1.23V)
• Acid (H+) = upgraded cathode reaction
• More acidic = higher potential (voltage) = higher current = more corrosion
• Very high pH (strongly basic solution) can also cause corrosion in certain metals – more on this later

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 2) Nature of the environment
c) Higher oxygen content
• The cathode reaction is limited primarily by the amount of oxygen
dissolved in the water.
O2 + 2H20 + 4e- → 4OH-

• More oxygen means a more powerful cathode reaction, able to react more quickly (and
gain electrons more quickly).
• Electrons can be produced at the anode (Fe → Fe2+ + 2e-) only as fast as they can be
taken by the cathode.
• More oxygen = more electrons can be used by the cathode = more electrons can be
produced at the anode = more metal loss, more corrosion
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3) Resistance between the anode and the cathode
• Increasing the electrical resistance prevents electrons from moving
from the anode to the cathode
• Higher resistance = lower current = less corrosion

1. Put a non-conductive gasket between the anode and the cathode

• Cuts off electron flow completely! No corrosion!

2. Increase the distance between the anode and cathode

• More metal to travel through = more resistance = less corrosion

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 4) Anode to cathode ratio
O2 + 2H20 + 4e- → 4OH-
An iron plate with a
copper rivet: Fe → Fe2+ + 2e- (Cathode)
(sitting in open water)
(Anode)

Large Anode to
Cathode Ratio…
(limited by the cathode reaction)
Fe(OH)2

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 4) Anode to cathode ratio
A copper plate with Fe → Fe2+ + 2e-

an iron rivet: O2 + 2H20 + 4e- → 4OH- (Anode)

(sitting in open water)
(Cathode)

Small Anode to
Fe(OH)2
Cathode Ratio!
(anode corrodes as fast as possible)

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Small Anode + Big Cathode = Big Trouble!

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 4) Anode to cathode ratio
A small anode to cathode ratio will increase the corrosion rate. Why?
• As iron corrodes, it loses electrons (Fe → Fe2+ + 2e-)
• Electrons travel through the iron to the copper and are used in the cathode reaction
• Since the cathode surface is very large, all electrons are used immediately
and the iron corrodes quickly

A large anode to cathode ratio will decrease the corrosion rate. Why?
• A small cathode will have limited access to water to feed the reduction
reaction (O2 + 2H20 + 4e- → 4OH-)
• The cathode cannot accept many electrons from the anode, which limits
the rate of corrosion.
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5) Higher temperature
• Higher temperature makes everything more reactive
• More reactivity = more corrosion!

• This is mostly due to the increased activity of the electrolyte.

• Ions can move more quickly, increasing the ionic conductivity
• Increase in conductivity = less resistance = more current = more corrosion

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6) Change in fluid velocity
• Higher fluid velocity can make corrosion worse
• particles in the fluid wear away protective films (ex: oxide layer)
➢ bare metal is exposed to corrosion
• true even for non-stainless steels (rust is better than nothing)

• Lower fluid velocity can also make corrosion worse

• particles in the fluid can settle to the bottom
• blocks oxygen from reaching below the surface deposit, causing
pitting corrosion (more on this later)

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The Cost of Corrosion
• The direct cost of corrosion (replacement cost)
• approximately 4% of the gross domestic product (GDP) in 1980
• approximately 3% of GDP in 2010
• we’re getting better at corrosion control!
• Indirect costs (lost profits due to downtime) ≈ direct costs
• total cost of corrosion approximately 6% of GDP
• corrosion costs within a company can also be assumed to be close to 6%
• North American GDP is over $20 trillion per year…
… equates to over $1,000,000,000,000 (trillion) in losses to corrosion every year!
• It is estimated that one third of this cost could be saved by applying
appropriate measures of corrosion control.
• Many job opportunities in the corrosion control industry!

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 Exercise 1 (pg. 7)
1. Corrosion is the __chemical__ or _electrochemical_ reaction between a metal
and its __________________.
2. Pure iron is rarely found in nature, it is usually in the form of _____________.
3. When the __________ is removed from iron ore, the iron metal is left.
4. The main element that causes corrosion of iron is __________.
5. A small company has operating costs of $10,000,000 per year.
a. Approximately what is the cost associated with corrosion?
b. How much could be saved by improving corrosion control?
6. Describe the components that need to be present for corrosion to take place.
7. When the anode is small compared to the cathode size, corrosion rate is _____.
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 Bonus Questions

8. Why does an increase in dissolved oxygen content increase

the corrosion rate?

9. Why does putting a gasket between a piece of plain-carbon

steel and a piece of stainless steel prevent corrosion?

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 Bonus Question

8. Why does an increase in dissolved oxygen content increase the corrosion rate?

O2 + 2H20 + 4e- → 4OH-

• More oxygen makes the cathode reaction faster, able to react more quickly and
gain electrons more quickly.
• Electrons can only be produced at the anode (Fe → Fe2+ + 2e-) if they can be
taken by the cathode.
• More oxygen = more electrons can be taken by the cathode = more electrons can
be produced at the anode = more metal loss, more corrosion
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 Bonus Question

9. Why does putting a gasket between a piece of plain-carbon steel and a

piece of stainless steel prevent corrosion?

• The gasket breaks electrical contact between the anode (zinc) and the
cathode (copper)
• Without electrical contact, the electrons cannot move from the anode to
the cathode, so corrosion cannot occur.

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