D. Tech. Chemical, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering / Corrosion is the chemical or electrochemical interaction between a material, especially metals, and their environment resulting in mild to severe deterioration of the material and its properties. The economic impact and problems resulting from corrosion has drawn strong attention from scientists and engineers worldwide. Stainless steel is the most important engineering metal worldwide, and industrially stainless steel is used extensively due to its resistance to corrosion e.g. in acid pickling, industrial acid cleaning, acid descaling, oil well acidizing and the petroleum industry. The corrosion resistance of stainless steels is due to the formation of a protective film which covers the steel surface instantaneously when exposed to mild operational conditions in the presence of oxygen; however, the oxide is most often porous and insufficient to protect the steel from further oxidation and corrosion attack in harsh environments. It is hypothesized that: In-depth understanding of the electrochemical behaviour of ferrous alloys in interaction with selected organic compounds in acidic environments will enhance inhibitor application for corrosion control; Failure and poor performance of most inhibitor admixtures can be eliminated with comprehensive knowledge of electrochemical interaction at the metal-inhibitor interface, passive film formation, duration and breakdown, adsorption characteristics, bond formation and molecular structure effect; Optimization of the current electroanalytical method will enhance effective pitting corrosion detection, analysis and control with the use of organic inhibiting compounds. The primary aim of this research is to develop the science required for the effective assessment, development and confident use of organic compounds (heterocyclic compound, organosulphur compound, simple alcohol, aromatic amine compound, aromatic amine derivative and aminoalcohol) and tested alloys (austenitic stainless steel type 304 and mild steel) for applications in astringent environments through conventional and optimized corrosion monitoring techniques.

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