Complementary Use of Laboratory and Plant Tests to Solve Complex Chemical Plant Corrosion Problems

Laboratory and in-plant corrosion testing play complementary roles in enabling the corrosion practitioner to make practical corrosion predictions. This paper explores the ways in which these two approaches can be used to arrive at appropriate predictions. The discussion is in terms of three practical case studies: corrosion of steel in a waste stream, evaluation of alloy alternatives to a rubber-lined vessel, and evaluation of a process temperature increase in a waste reactor. Using the three cases as examples, the paper shows how the two protocols fit together.