CORROSION CONSIDERATIONS IN SELECTING METALS FOR FLASH CHAMBERS

Carbon steel has been widely used for flash chamber construction but corrosion problems in this material have created a need for improved materials. Although several investigators (ref. 1,2,3,4) have studied the corrosion of carbon steel in desalination, there is no comprehensive set of data which relates corrosion behaviour to the main factors which influence it in seawater and brines. A theoretical study has been made of the effect of oxygen content, flow rate and temperature on the corrosion of carbon steel in seawater over the range of conditions likely to be met in a multi-stage flash distillation plant. Data derived from this study are compared with measured data. The use of stainless steels and 90/10 cupro-nickel for flash chamber construction is also considered. © 1979.