Corrosion Resistance of Steels Used in Alcohol and Sugar Industry

Evaporators used in power plants for sugar production are vessels with two boxes of heat exchangers. These heat exchangers made of a low‐corrosion resistance material are frequently replaced during the alcohol production process. In view of the growing production of cane, sugar, and alcohol, and the corrosion of materials used in power plants, it was necessary to find alternative materials for carbon steel applied in the evaporators. A comparative study of the corrosion resistance of stainless steel as well as unalloyed and alloyed carbon‐manganese steels in neutral and acid sugar cane juice electrolytes is presented. The alloyed carbon steels showed the best corrosion behavior in an acid environment compared to a neutral medium. Among the alloyed carbon steels, ASTM T11 and ASTM T22 steels provided the highest corrosion resistance in sugar cane juice.