Sweet Corrosion Inhibition of Carbon Steel Using a Blend of Palm-Jatropha Leaf Extract in 3.5% Nacl Solution

Chinwego, Chinenye Annexcel (2017-12-12)

Thesis

This research focused on studying the suitability of a blend of plant extracts for sweet corrosion inhibition on carbon steel in 3.5% NaCl solution. A comparative study was carried out to investigate the efficacy of sweet corrosion inhibition using palm, jatropha and palm-jatropha extracts at concentrations of 100 ppm, 200 ppm, and 400 ppm to show the effect of blending on the inhibitive performance of plant extracts. An analysis of the extracts was carried out and weight losses as well as electrochemical measurements of the steel samples were obtained. The extracts were characterised using FTIR spectroscopy, indicating the presence of phenols, amines, esters and alkaloids, which are active ingredients for corrosion inhibition. The spectrum of the palm-jatropha blend indicated a strong presence of phenols, alkaloids, imines and oximes. The best inhibition efficiency was obtained at PJE 200 (60.9%). The weight loss and electrochemical studies showed that palm extract is suspected to be an anodic inhibitor and a blend with jatropha extract would give better inhibition efficiency at a critical concentration.