Author(s)

Sunday Aribo

Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria.

Repassivation behaviour of the passive film formed on lean duplex stainless steel UNS S32101 and austenitic stainless steel UNS S30403 in a CO₂-saturated oilfield environment has been studied. The native passive film on the alloys was thinned/removed by stepping the potential of the alloy to ﹣850 mV/Ag/AgCl for 30 minutes. Potentiostatic measurements were then taken at potentials of ﹣200, ﹣100, 0, 100 and 200 mV versus Ag/AgCl. Results show that the passive film repassivates at potentials of ﹣200 and ﹣100 mV and 0 mV for both alloys at 50°C. The current density however continues to rise for potentials of 100 and 200 mV. This shows that both alloys are susceptible to pitting at potentials above 100 mV at the test temperature of 50°C.

UNS S32101, UNS S30403, Cathodic Stripping, Repassivation, Passive Film

Aribo, S. (2015) Repassivation Behaviour of UNS S32101 and UNS S30403 Stainless Steels after Cathodic Stripping of the Native Passive Film in a CO₂-Saturated Oilfield Brine. Advances in Materials Physics and Chemistry, 5, 281-286. doi: 10.4236/ampc.2015.58027.