Investigation of Sida acuta (Wire Weed) Plant Extract as Corrosion Inhibitor for Aluminium-Copper-Magnessium Alloy in Acidic Medium

Abstract

This work is an investigation of the aqueous corrosion inhibition of Al-Cu-Mg Alloy in acidic medium using extract of Sida acuta (wire weed) plant as corrosion inhibitor at 10%, 20%, 30% and 40% v/v of the extract. After exposing the alloy to the medium, the results showed that the plant extract inhibited the acid induced corrosion. The presence of Sida acuta plant extract reduces corrosion rate from 0.0012 to 0.0001 MPY and percentage protection increases from 37.42% to 93.63% within a ten-day period with increase in percentage volume of the extract. The result has clearly shown that Sida acuta plant extract can be used as a corrosion inhibitor in the part of chemical plant that is made of Al-Cu-Mg Alloy where acid is used for descaling and cleaning.