New approaches to improve high temperature corrosion resistance in chlorine-based atmospheres

Chlorine gas is widely encountered in chemical industries, as well as in waste incinerators and plastic/polymer decomposition mills. The presence of chlorine may significantly reduce the life-time of the components. Under chlorine-based atmospheres, the process of scale formation may be considerably affected and the presence of chlorine usually impedes the formation of a long term protective dense oxide scale. Based on thermodynamic calculations and previous investigations, NiAl and NiAlMo APS-coatings were produced to be used as protection for conventional steels against chlorine corrosion. Indeed, thermodynamic diagrams showed that molybdenum should have a positive behaviour in "reducing"-chloridizing atmospheres, whereas aluminium has a positive behaviour in "oxidizing"-chloridizing atmospheres. Coatings of approximatively 300 mu m thickness were thermally sprayed on Armco Iron and on a commercial ferritic 18 Cr steel. This work presents the corrosion behaviour of NiAl and NiAlMo APS-coatings under chlorine-based atmospheres at 800 degrees C. In addition, metallographic characterisation as well as EPMA investigations of the coating cross sections were carried out before and after the corrosion tests.