An electrochemical study of the corrosion behaviour of metals in canola biodiesel

Abstract

The corrosion behaviour of pure Al, Cu, 1018 carbon steel and 304 type stainless steel in Canola biodiesel during 528 hours has been evaluated by using electrochemical techniques. Techniques include open circuit potentials (OCP), electrochemical noise (EN) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements at room temperature. These tests were complemented by scanning electronic microscopy, X-ray diffraction, infrared spectroscopy and gas mass chromatography analysis. Results have shown that carbon steel had the highest corrosion rate whereas Cu had the lowest corrosion rate. EN measurements indicated that 304 type stainless steel was moderately susceptible to pitting corrosion, whereas the rest of the metals were susceptible to either mixed or uniform type of corrosion. This was due to the degradation of the biodiesel as observed in an increase in its density, viscosity, acidity and water content at the end of the test.