Corrosion behaviour of cast iron exposed to Arabian Gulf environment

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to determine the longterm corrosion behavior of cast iron coupons in the Jubail Industrial City (JIC), Saudi Arabia. Design/methodology/approach – The samples were exposed under atmospheric, underground, and splash zone conditions, at Khaleej Mardumah Test Station (KMTS) in Jubail. Soil, groundwater, seawater and air particulate samples were collected at the exposure sites and were analyzed. Secondary electron microscopy (SEM), Xray diffraction (XRD) and Xray fluorescence (XRF) were used to examine the surface morphology of the test coupons and identify the corrosion products developed on the surface of the metals. The corrosion rates of the coupons were determined by weight loss method. Findings – The results showed that the atmosphere, underground and splash zone conditions all were very corrosive to cast iron, due to temperature and humidity variations as well as the high chloride and sulfate concentrations in the region. The splash zone was the most corrosive regime of the three test zones. The main corrosive ions in the environments were identified as chloride and sulfate. The maximum chloride and sulfate concentrations were measured to be 8.94 and 49.65 μg/m³ in atmosphere, 8,040 and 1,410 ppm in soil, and 29,500 and 5,770 mg/l in seawater, respectively. The corrosion rates of cast irons were found to be 343536 μm/y in splash zone, 90214 μm/y in underground, and 2227 μm/y in atmosphere. Compared to other parts of the world, the soil, marine and atmospheric environments at the selected test site are very corrosive. Originality/value – In this paper, corrosion of cast iron is presented in atmospheric, soil and splash zone conditions along the eastern coast of the Arabian Gulf.