Comparison of the Three-Phase Corrosion Behavior of SiN and 304L Stainless Steels in 6 M Nitric Acid Solution at Different Temperatures

Abstract

In this work, the three-phase corrosion behavior of SiN and 304L stainless steels was comparatively investigated in a 6 M nitric acid solution at different temperatures. It was found that the corrosion rates of both steels in the liquid phase, vapor phase and condensate phase of nitric acid showed an increasing trend with rising temperature. Meanwhile, there also existed some differences in the corrosion kinetics and the corrosion resistance in the different phases of nitric acid. The corrosion rate of SiN and 304L stainless steels in the liquid phase of nitric acid had a cubic function relationship with temperature, and SiN stainless steel presented better corrosion resistance without intergranular corrosion (IGC) compared with 304L stainless steel with IGC at 100 °C and 120 °C. By contrast, the SiN stainless steel displayed a lower corrosion resistance than 304L stainless steel in the vapor phase of nitric acid at the same temperature, and the corrosion rates of SiN and 304L stainless steels showed a quadratic function relationship with temperature, indicating a milder corrosion in the vapor phase in comparison with that in the liquid phase of nitric acid. In the condensate phase of nitric acid, there was a similar corrosion behavior of the two steels to that in the nitric acid vapor phase, and 304L stainless steel also demonstrated a better corrosion resistance than SiN stainless steel at the same temperature. The differences in corrosion behavior between the two steels could be attributed to the changed media environment and the different alloy composition, and the two aspects were discussed in detail based on relevant experimental results. This work can provide an important insight into the material selection for reprocessing equipment and the development of new corrosion-resistant materials used in spent fuel reprocessing.