Effect of environmental factors on the atmospheric corrosion of mild steel in aggressive sea coastal environment

The eastern coast of Saudi Arabia has one of the most corrosive environments in the world. Dhahran is therefore an ideal location for the study of atmospheric corrosion. One out of every seven cars in the region is corroded. The atmosphere is contaminated by SO2 and a high concentration of suspended particulate matter (SPM) containing sand, salt and carbon particles, exceeding the World Health Organization (WHO) and Middle East Environmental Protection Agency (MEPA) limits most of the time. Corrosion proceeds in the Dhahran atmosphere at a R.H. as low as 40 per cent. At locations dose to the sea (1.5 Km), beta-FeOOH is the major corrosion product and alpha- and gamma-FeOOH with some aluminates, silicates and hydrocarbons the minor products. At a location remote from the sea alpha- and gamma-FeOOH are found to be the major corrosion products as shown by XRD and FTIR spectroscopy. The concentration of hydrogen ions, chloride ions and SO2 appears to control the corrosion process during the initial exposure period up to one year and the adsorption of anions on the corrosion product films in the later period.