Q 1) Explain the types of corrosion for process equipments.

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Ans. Corrosion causes destruction of metals by chemical or electrochemical action.

Types of corrosion in process equipments are as follows,

1. Uniform corrosion: - This involves general overall attack and the part fails due to thinning. The
cause is the choice of wrong material.
2. Two-metal corrosion or galvanic corrosion: - This is due to contact of two dissimilar metals. In
such cases corrosion of the less resistant (anodic) metal is accelerated and the more the
resistant (cathodic) metal is protected.
3. Crevice corrosion: - It is an intense, localised corrosion, which occurs within crevices and other
shielded areas. This form of attack is associated with small volumes of stagnant solutions in
holes, gasket surfaces, lap joints, bolt heads, etc.
4. Pitting: - It is a form of extremely localised attack which results in holes and perforations.
5. Inter-granular corrosion: - It is an attack which occurs only on the grain boundaries and not the
grains of metal. The structure disintegrates because the grains fall out.
6. Selective leaching: - It is the removal of one element from a solid alloy by the corrosion
process. This type of corrosion is not readily detected, since the dimensions of the component
do not change, and breakage occurs suddenly without any indication.
7. Stress corrosion: - It is the failure due to a combination of stress and corrosion. There is no
overall corrosion and it is limited to a specific environment.
8. Fatigue corrosion: - It is stress corrosion, where the stresses are cyclic instead of static. This
contributes greatly to the initiation of corrosion fatigue, in that a surface pit acts as a stress
raiser.
9. Erosion corrosion: - It is an attack due to combination of corrosion and mechanical wears
effect (erosion). This usually occurs when handling liquids at high velocities and for with solids
in suspension.
Q 2) Explain the important properties and applications of following materials for process
equipments.
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i.
ii.
iii.

Copper and its alloys,

Nickel and its alloys,
Carbon and graphite.

Ans. 1) Copper and its alloys: - Pure copper has good ductility, malleability, high electrical and
thermal conductivity. It has fair mechanical strength and can be fabricated easily into a wide variety of
shapes. It can be easily joined by brazing, welding and soldering. Copper exhibits good corrosion
resistance to strong alkalies and organic solvents. It is resistant to atmospheric moisture or oxygen
because a protective coating of copper oxide is formed on the surface.
Copper is alloyed with zinc, tin, nickel, aluminium and lead. In special cases, beryllium and
manganese are also used. These alloys have greater strength and provide greater ease in machining
and coating.

Copper-zinc alloys, known as brasses, have upto 45% zinc and are suitable for tubes, wires
and sheets, which can be cold worked.
Copper-tin alloys, known as bronzes, contain tin upto 5% for wrought work and about 10% for
castings. These alloys are used widely for pumps, valves, pipe fittings, etc.
Copper-aluminium alloys contain upto 14% aluminium, and are known as aluminium bronzes.
They are highly resistant to oxidation and scaling and for that reason are among the best

copper alloys for service, at moderately elevated temperatures. They include some of the
strongest copper alloys. These alloys are used for pump castings, condenser tubes, valve
seats, etc.
Copper-nickel alloys contain 20 to 30% copper. They have good strength, ductility and
corrosion resistance. These alloys are extensively used for condenser fabrication.

Copper and its alloys have been used in chemical industry over a long period. Copper is always used
in the wrought form, as sheet or tube, while the fittings such as valves, pumps and other cast parts
are fabricated from one of the copper alloys. They are used for evaporators, stills, condensers and
beat exchangers.
2) Nickel and its alloys: - Nickel exhibits high corrosion resistance to most alkalies. The strength and
hardness of nickel is almost as great as that of carbon steel and the metal can be fabricated easily.
For economical use of nickel, steel clad with nickel is used extensively in the production of caustic
soda and alkalies.

An alloy of nickel and copper, known as Monel, contains 61% nickel and 30% copper. The
resistance of Monel to molten salts and alkali metals is inferior to that of pure nickel, but the
copper content imparts superior resistance to non-oxidising chloride solutions and to hot dilute
solutions of non-oxidising acids. The alloy is used in food industries. In chemical industries it is
used in evaporators, heat exchangers, etc.
An alloy of nickel-chromium-iron, known as inconel, contains 76% nickel, 15% chromium and
the remaining is mainly iron. The presence of chromium in this alloy increases its resistance to
oxidizing conditions. It has also a good heat resistance. Applications of inconel include heat
exchangers, digesters, etc.
Nickel-molybdenum alloys, known as hastelloys, have high resistance to corrosion over wider
ranges of materials with higher concentrations and temperatures. Hastelloy C has 56% nickel,
17% molybdenum, 16% chromium, 5% iron and 4% tungsten. It has excellent corrosion
resistance even at high temperatures. It is used for valves, piping, heat exchangers and
vessels. To meet very severely corrosive conditions nickel- molybdenum alloys are often the
only alternatives to precious metals like platinum and silver.

3) Carbon and graphite - These comprise a family of materials. Each member is essentially pure
carbon, but differs from others in such things as basic structure, orientation of the crystallites, size
and number of pore spacings, degree of graphitization, etc. Consequently it is possible to
manufacture many different grades of carbon and graphite, ranging from coarse-grained, relatively
weak materials to the fine-grained, strongest and purest materials.
Impervious graphite and carbon are made by impregnating them with a suitable resin. These
materials are anisotropic and therefore their properties vary with grain orientation. The corrosion
resistance of both carbon and graphite is almost unsurpassed. Graphite is generally inert to all
chemicals except in strongly oxidizing applications. Unlike metals, these materials do not depend for
corrosion resistance on the formation of an inherent oxide or other film. This is particularly important
in chemical process equipment in which erosion and corrosion can combine to destroy the metal th at
is protected by a film.
Carbon and graphite have an unusual range of thermal conductivity. Carbon is a fairly good insulator,
while graphite is a good conductor of heat. The low thermal conductivity of carbon is advantageous
when carbon bricks are used to line vessels for high temperature reactions. On the other hand, the
high coefficient of thermal conductivity of graphite makes it possible to manufacture efficient, compact
heat exchangers.

Q 3) Explain the need of protective coatings. Describe following types of coatings.

i.
ii.
iii.

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Metallic coatings.
Inorganic coatings
Organic coatings

Ans. Need for Protective Coatings: - Quite often limitations are imposed by cost and fabrication
requirements, on the choice of the most desirable material for resisting corrosion. Therefore, a
protective coating on a less resistant metal or alloy represents a practical compromise. There are
three general categories of coatings, metallic, inorganic and organic. A coating should be applied only
on a clean surface. The presence of grease, oil dirt or scale adversely affects the adherence,
continuity and durability of coatings.
Metallic Coatings: - Many different techniques are practised commercially for applying metallic
coatings. Not all metals may be applied by all the methods, but usually two or more processes are
practical and economically feasible for any metal.

Hot Dipping: - Short-time immersion into bath of coating metal.

Cementation: - Powdered coating metal alloyed with base metal at temperature below melting
point.
Cladding: - Veneering and alloying of two or more metals under pressure; rolling of duplex
ingots.
Electroplating: - Electro-deposition of coating metal at cathode from solution on fused salt bath.
Metal spraying: - Atomization of molten metal in hot gas stream. Wire or powder may be
melted in gun by flame or arc.
Vapour Plating: - Surface condensation of metal vapours by pyrolysis of metal compounds,
cathode sputtering, vacuum evaporation.

Inorganic Coatings: - Commercial inorganic coatings for protection of metals fall into two general
categories, namely chemical or electrochemical surface conversion treatments and vitreous enamels.
Those in the first group often do not constitute the final protective layer but s erve as undercoating for
paint or other organic materials. Chemical dip methods are employed to create protective oxide films
on iron, steel, stainless steel, aluminium, copper and some of their alloys. Such films are usually very
thin and arc frequently coloured. Electrolytic coatings may be made, as in the case of anodising
treatments for aluminium which produce a relatively thick, abrasion resistant coating.
Vitreous coatings although brittle, possess surface hardness and complete inertness to many
corrosive environments. Enamelled or glass lined vessels and other equipment are available in a
variety of shapes and sizes. These enamels are made from fused silicates of various compositions,
containing colloidal suspensions of colouring materials. For metallic sheets, the enamel is applied as
slurry. Coatings are enamelled by powder. Subsequent heating conditions are dependent on enamel
composition and intended service.
Organic Coatings: - These represent a large variety of materials and are the most widely used
methods of protecting metals against corrosion. More than a thousand different synthetic resins as
well as a wide variety of pigments, modifying oils and solvents are used in coating formulations.
These coatings protect metals by interposing a continuous, adherent, inert film between the metal
and its environment. They also markedly change appearance of the metal. These coatings can be
divided into three classes. Paint is a dispersion of pigments in a vehicle which consists of drying oils
modified with solvent or thinner to aid application. Enamel is a dispersion of pigments in varnish or
resin vehicle which polymerises either by oxidation at room temperature or by application of heat.
Lacquer is a pigmented natural or synthetic resin dissolved or suspended in solvents.