Evaluation of Limonene-Based Compound as Volatile Inhibitor to Protect AISI 1020 Carbon Steel Against Corrosion

Abstract

Volatile corrosion inhibitors (VCIs) are used to protect metal objects temporarily, such as during storage and transport. Although widely used, in the last two decades traditional synthetic VCIs have been gradually replaced due to their high toxicity. A viable solution is the use of natural inhibitors. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of limonene-based natural VCI to protect AISI 1020 carbon steel against corrosion. The vaporization capacity of VCI was evaluated by the standardized sublimation test; the ability to form a protective barrier was analyzed by testing kraft paper as anticorrosive packaging; and the inhibition mechanisms against carbon steel corrosion were investigated by electrochemical methods of open circuit potential (OCP) measurement, potentiodynamic polarization (PP) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). According to the sublimation test, limonene-based VCI provided effective protection to the carbon steel at a concentration of 1.5 g/L. The kraft paper test confirmed the efficiency of the temporary use (4 days) of the natural VCI in packaging, without residue deposition. Furthermore, through electrochemical measurements, we found that limonene-based VCI provided an inhibition efficiency of 99% to AISI 1020 carbon steel in a 3.5% NaCl aqueous solution, thus identifying a potential alternative to toxic synthetic VCIs.