Dissolution of alumina ceramics in HCl aqueous solution

Dissolution of a cold isostatically pressed high purity alumina ceramics in aqueous HCl solutions was studied as a function of immersion time and acid concentration. From the amounts of Al3+, Mg2+, Ca2+, Na+, Si4+ and Fe3+ ions released in the corrosive solution, a degree of dissolution χ i for each component was calculated according to the equation χ i = A/B, where A and B are respectively the amount of the element released in the corrosive solution and the amount of the element in the untreated material. The determination of the amounts of ions released in the corrosive solutions was carried out by means of atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS). The corrosion of alumina ceramics in the HCl aqueous solution is determined by the solubility of alumina and the solubility of grain-boundary impurities. Very low dissolution values of Al3+, Mg2+, Ca2+, Na+, Si4+ and Fe3+ ions after the corrosion test of alumina ceramics showed a very good corrosion resistance in the HCl aqueous solution.