The Corrosionist

Corrosion Cell

2011-11-17T00:33:00.000-08:00

Another interesting video on Corrosion Theory from CorrConnect.
Usually we think that in order to have a Galvanic Cell or Corrosion Cell we need two different metals with different electrochemical potential.
This video explains how the Galvanic Cell, responsible for Corrosion, occurs with just one metal.

You can find more videos on Corrosion Theory in the CorrConnect website.

http://www.corrconnect.org/

Corrosionist Team

Galvanic Corrosion Video

2011-11-01T04:15:00.000-07:00

Browsing on the net we've found a lot of interesting videos on Corrosion.

We'd like to start a new series of posts in which we will post some of the most interesting and useful videos that can help you understand and solve corrosion problems.

This is the first on Galvanic Corrosion in seawater and Corrosion protection of boats with Cathodic protection.

Hope you will find it interesting.

Please share other videos or useful materials on Corrosion.

Corrosionist Team

Corrosionist Ebook

2011-10-26T03:41:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time since the last post. We've been busy working on our website, Corrosionist.com trying to improve the content and quality.

We've reached more than 3000 pageviews per day and this is a great achievement for a website that started as an hobby and nowadays is one of the most important on the web on Corrosion & Materials.

We've also been working on an ebook, our first ebook that will be available, we hope, by the end of November.

What will you find in this ebook?

It's an ebook that will give you useful tips on how to make searches when looking for Corrosion, Materials information to solve corrosion problems.

It will be based on the same information that you can find on Corrosionist.com but it will be also a tool to understand how is it possible to find the most useful information that are available on the net.

Please if you are interested in this ebook, just let us know what you think about it and what you would like to find in this ebook.

Hope to hear from you soon.

Corrosion resistance data

2011-06-13T09:51:00.000-07:00

In this website you can find Corrosion resistances data free to download,

Alloys and Non-Metallics

Elastomers- Diaphragm Valves

Elastomers- Expansion Joints

Fiberglass Pipe

Plastic and Metal Valves and Fittings

Plastic-Lined Pipe- Tefzel Fluoropolymer

CFPC | Pumps, Parts, Valves, Fiberglass Pipe, FRP Pipe, Teflon-Lined Pipe, Hoses, Repairs & More | RFQ | Request Quote

You can find more corrosion resistance data and other useful information on corrosion prevention and corrosion control in corrosionist.com.

hope this help

YouTube - Crossing energy frontiers

2011-06-12T08:14:00.000-07:00

An incredible video on Statoil's vision.

YouTube - Crossing energy frontiers

Minimizing Galvanic Corrosion, how to stop or reduce the effect of galvanic corrosion

2011-06-12T01:39:00.000-07:00

Galvanic corrosion or bimetallic corrosion occurs when two different metals are placed in contact or are otherwise electrically connected in an electrically conductive solution, e.g. water, seawater..

The effect of galvanic corrosion is the accelerated corrosion of the most active metal, the anode in the bimetallic couple, and the decreased corrosion of the more noble material, the cathode.

For example in a galvanic couple between aluminum and steel or stainless steel, aluminum will act as the anode and corrode while steel or stainless steel will be the cathode and will be protected by aluminum.

Galvanic corrosion is affected by the relative position in the galvanic series of the two metals considered and by the relative area of the two metals’ surface.

A Galvanic series of metals is a list of metals based on the relative tendency to corrode when placed in a particular electrolyte; hence a different galvanic series shall be used for each specific solution.

As a general rule, the closer the metals in the galvanic series, the more compatible they will be, hence the galvanic corrosion will be minimal or negligible.
In a galvanic or bimetallic couple the metal which is closer to the (-) or active end of the list will act as the anode in the galvanic cell while the metal that is closer to the (+) or noble end of the list will act as the cathode and will be protected.
If is not possible to avoid the contact between the two metals, appropriate measures shall be taken to reduce or eliminate the likelihood and effect of galvanic corrosion.
Here is a list of the corrective actions suitable to avoid galvanic corrosion:

1) Galvanic Series effect: Use metals that are as close as possible in the galvanic series in the electrolyte considered. If is not available a galvanic series for that particular fluid, use as a fist pass the galvanic series of metals in water or seawater

2) The relative area effect: a small anode area relative to the cathode area should be avoided, in fact the larger the relative areas of the anode, the lower the galvanic current on the anode and the lesser the galvanic corrosion attack. As an example when selecting the materials of bolts for an assembly select a bolts or screw made of stainless steel for fastening aluminum of steel sheet, but never the opposite.

3) Avoid the electrical contact: If possible, as in the example of the bolts/screw/sheet assembly, use gasket or washer made of isolating non-conductive materials, like rubber, between the two materials. On the market there are several different supplier of isolating kits for bolts and flanges.
4) Use of coating: Coat with a paint the dissimilar metals joint or at least paint the nobler, the cathode area of the two metals.

5) Time of wetness: If possible reduce the time of wetness, time that the metals are exposed to the electrolyte solution, of the dissimilar joint metal surface. For example by placing the dissimilar joint in a closed, indoor environment.

6) Inspection and Maintenance: The effect of galvanic corrosion can be reduced by a frequent inspection and maintenance activities aimed at detect early signs corrosion. Most of the time the effect of galvanic corrosion is limited to a minor aesthetic damage that can be easily removed and fixed.

If you need more info on Galvanic Corrosion you can find useful documents on galvanic corrosion bimetallic corrosion and corrosion prevention and control on Corrosionist.com. Or if you have questions you can join our Corrosion Prevention Forum.

Galvanic Corrosion, tips to understand, control and get rid of it - part one

2011-05-11T03:24:00.000-07:00

Galvanic corrosion is one of the most searched, discussed, and misunderstood form of corrosion.

As for other aspects of science and life in general there is always something, like galvanic corrosion, that is used to explain, justify what we don't know.

Can't sleep? It's stress. No appetite? I's stress. Headache? It's stress.... The same thing with galvanic corrosion... Rust on your car? Galvanic corrosion. Boat? Galvanic corrosion...

It is true that the mechanism of galvanic corrosion is fascinating but it cannot be the cause of all your corrosion problems..

Galvanic corrosion is a form of corrosion that can cause serious problems but it can be easily controlled and avoided following just few easy steps:

First: Assess if galvanic corrosion can be a problem:

1 be sure that there are two different metallic materials

2 be sure that there is an electrical connection between the two materials

3 be sure that there is a electrolyte, like water

If all the above are true then there is a good chance that you'll have some corrosion and the cause is: Galvanic Corrosion.

How to avoid and control GC? We will see in the second part of this post, meanwhile have a look at galvanic corrosion on corrosionist.com.

And if you have question post it in the Corrosion Forum

Use internet to solve Corrosion problems - part one

2011-05-08T00:37:00.000-07:00

How is it possible to use the internet to solve a corrosion problem?
There are several different possible alternative solutions:

1) Make a search with Google or another search engine, however we can assure you that Google is our first choice

2) Use a Corrosion or Engineering Forum

3) Use an “expert” website like live person or something similar

4) ….

We will focus on the first two, and analyze which are, in our opinion, the pro and cons of each one of the above alternatives:

Google...

1) Pros:
• Google is Google, everything is on the web, and almost everything has ever been written and published in the “hands” of Google…
• Maybe Google is still not perfect and return exactly what you’re looking for but there is a good chance that in the first 10’s results you’ll find something really useful...

2) Cons:
• If you don’t use the right words and phrases in your search, you’ll have to scan 10’s of result to find something useful, this can be frustrating and also a waste of time.
• Google is Google but sometimes the “best” results are not the first results even if you use the right words. It happens sometimes, when we made corrosion related searches that the most relevant results are not in the first 3-4 pages. So there is the possibility that you’ll miss them…

Forum:

1) Pros:
• When you post in a forum, you are asking a question to “real” person and not to a PC.
• If the forum is some years old there is a good chance that your question has been already asked before.
2) Cons:
• A “real” person does not means that he is a “real” expert on corrosion..!!
• People is lazy, and think that it’s easier to ask the same question instead of make the effort to do a search, so there could be the same question asked.. asked.. asked..

Based on the above we’ve tried to give our contribute in two ways:

1) We have created a Corrosion Prevention Search Engine, based on Google Custom Search Engine. You can find it in the home page of Corrosionist.com

2) We have created a new Corrosion Forum, Corrosionistforum.com.

Why you should use the Corrosion Search Engine and the Corrosionistfourm?

1) The corrosion search engine is still based on Google, so you’ll have the same “power” of a search made with Google but the search is limited to a selected number of website that are only related to corrosion so your search will be focused on website that are really relevant to Corrosion.

As an example if you search the word corrosion in the first 10 results you’ll find something related to the music group “corrosion of conformity”, and one of a “coming soon” website... still waiting to see it online..

2) The Corrosionistforum is the only forum, apart from the NACE Forum, that is focused only on Corrosion and is at an “entry level” to corrosion while the NACE is more for industry expert.
In the Corrosionist forum we have created forums for the most searched terms like a “galvanic corrosion forum”, “rust removal forum”, “material selection forum”.

This will help visitors to find easily the most relevant information without the need of making a search and avoid, we hope, that the same question will be asked... asked... asked...
The “real” person behind the Corrosionsitforum is a.. Corrosionist.. so we cannot guarantee that we can answer all the questions but at least we can give you an advice on how/where to find the answer..

What dou you think about our tools?

Possible solutions to your corrosion problems - 5 easy steps

2011-04-10T08:28:00.000-07:00

When you have a corrosion problem and you don't have the answer there are some easy steps you can follow to solve it and avoid a terrible headache.

1 call your best friends that is a corrosionist with 40 ys experience in all the field of corrosion, explain your problem and if you are lucky you'll have the answer.

2 ok you don't have a best friend that is also a master corrosionist.. Then check in your library if you have access to at least one of the following books on corrosion

Hulig - Corrosion Handbook

Fontana Green - Corrosion Engineering

3 unfortunately your library is full of romances and travel guides but nothing on corrosion.... Well Open google and google your problem..."galvanic corrosion of copper alloys in contact with stainless steel in seawater at 25 celsius with chlorine.. bla.. bla... bla..."... Good luck..

4 you don't have access to the net right now.. Well there's no solution to your problem... Have an anspirin....

5 you don't have an aspirin..........

Well this is just a joke, if you are looking for info on corrosion start from Corrosionist.com, your souce of information on corrosion prevention and corrosion protection, there is a good chance that you can save an aspirin for the next problem..

Do you have other useful tips on how to solve a corrosion problem? Post it in this blog..

Post your idea, share knowledge on Corrosionist Blog

2011-04-07T22:32:00.000-07:00

We are looking for good ideas and interesting posts, so if you have something to say on corrosion prevention, corrosion theory, rust, metals or welding you can now post in this blog.

It is very simple just send us an email with the text of your post and we'll publish it in this blog.

You can include also some links to other sources of information like websites, database, forum posts....

Everything you want to share with readers of this blog and also of our website corrosionist.com.

You can also became an author of this blog, if you want to join us just send an email

So what are u waiting for?

Corrosion Articles

2011-04-05T22:32:00.000-07:00

We have created a new area of corrosionist.com where we publish articles on corrosion submitted by our visitors.

If you have an article, paper, on corrosion theory, corrosion prevention, material selection, rust and everything related to corrosion and materials just send us an email.

We will publish your work on corrosionist.com and also in this blog.

There is no limit to the dimension of the article and you can submit more than one. You can add some links to your website and some notes on the author or company.

Is not important that the article is new, what is important is the content.

Corrosionist Team

Corrosion Management for the Oil and Gas Industries: A key to safeguard Infrastructure and critical supplies.

2011-03-25T01:20:00.001-07:00

Corrosion Management for the Oil and Gas Industries: A key to safeguard Infrastructure and critical supplies.

Corrosion is an unfortunate given in the oil and gas industry. The pipelines and vast infrastructure, some of which is over half a century old, is subject to corrosion. If that corrosion goes undetected, the results can be disastrous, and very costly. Only with proper attention to safeguards, maintenance and modern protective technologies can the world's oil supplies remain steady, and the environment safe from disaster.

According to a 2002 US Federal Highway Administration study on metallic corrosion across all industrial sectors, corrosion is the main factor that affects the longevity and reliability of pipelines and nearly $7 billion a year is spent in corrosion-related costs. The expenses related to maintenance and reactive repairs, as well as the public safety and environmental factors involved, should place corrosion in the highest priority, both from the oil and gas industry's perspective as well as from a public policy perspective. While money must be spent in assessment, risk management, and maintenance, it is far less when compared to the alternative of having to replace pipelines and deal with the destructive after-effects in the surrounding environment. Therefore the process of having to make sure that corrosion prevention in pipelines, storage tanks and other critical infrastructure and supplies becomes a more vested solution.

An asset corrosion management system (CMS) will help protect against these dangerous and expensive threats. Corrosion management is part of an overall system, which develops, implements, reviews, and maintains both policy and strategy for managing, mitigating and preventing corrosion. While it may not be possible to completely eliminate any instance of corrosion and the leakage that results, proper attention, maintenance and technology will keep it to a manageable level.

It all starts with Paperwork

Like most other systems, a corrosion management system doesn't start in the oil field, it starts on paper, with strategy. An in-depth review of the current scenario and potential threat scenarios, a review of the integrity of all existing systems, followed by a review of available mitigating techniques and technologies all contributes to the creation of the all-important strategic document that guides the actual implementation of the corrosion management program.

Corrosion management isn't purely a reactive approach that treats corrosion after it has already begun. The place to begin after the strategic session is during the design phase, where engineering and design principles are applied before any pipes are even put in the ground. This ensures that the best materials are used, and the most appropriate anti-corrosive technologies are integrated.

Good preparation is the best approach. When pipelines lay in hostile environments or very remote territories, maintenance becomes more difficult and costly simply because of the access limitations. The biggest part of battling corrosion is in the planning and routine maintenance and inspection, particularly when monitoring can be done from a remote basis.

The Missing Link

A corrosion management system is sometimes not adopted post-commissioning, simply because of confusion from the beginning. The oil pipeline operator may mistakenly believe that all of the management tools have already been considered in the design phase by the engineer, so no further management system is needed. This is a major misunderstanding and a big mistake, which can lead to an increased risk of failure and higher costs down the line, due to lack of corrosion management tools. At that point, corrosion mitigation becomes an afterthought and a reactive process that is much more costly.

What is Corrosion Management?

Corrosion management isn't a single piece of technology or a single process. Rather, it is a management discipline that continuously reviews all engineering considerations, regularly monitors the entire system's performance, and evaluates the effectiveness of any corrosion management technologies after commissioning. The evaluation phase constantly evaluates data and looks at key performance indicators to determine levels of corrosion and the relative effectiveness of anti-corrosion techniques that have been applied.

Starting with an integrity review process, data is gathered at the beginning stage of the corrosion management process, including inspection data. This allows for a risk assessment to be carried out, then finally the creation of a corrosion management strategy meant to protect the asset. This review process will help to determine what level of inspection will be required, what mitigation processes need to take place, and what type of monitoring needs to be in place.

The initial integrity review process, which takes place before implementation, is perhaps the most important, and allows the project to progress more effectively while also preventing and rectifying many common corrosion issues. Only with a good integrity review can an adequate corrosion management plan be created.

The Right People with the Right Knowledge

One of the biggest shortcomings in the field of corrosion management is the lack of skilled personnel. The industry needs skilled engineers understand the industry, the chemistry of corrosion and the technologies required to address it.

Protecting the integrity of oil and gas assets depends both on effective corrosion engineering, and corrosion management. Corrosion management however, is often ignored, because of a lack of training on the engineering side, or the incorrect perception that the engineering phase will necessarily address all of the corrosion management requirements. The problem lies in the educational system, where corrosion engineers are taught topics that are associated mostly with the design stage of an oil and gas asset. Corrosion management, on the other hand, is more concerned with post-commissioning phases. The result is a serious training gap.

It is therefore necessary to consider both corrosion engineering and corrosion management, as two separate disciplines, to achieve the most effective results. Its of high importance that skilled professionals need to be equipped in both areas, and have prior expedience in highly effective corrosion management technologies that is desperately needed by the oil and gas industry.

About the Author

The article is provided to Corrosionist.com by Zerust Oil and Gas.

Northern Technologies International Corp (NTIC), creator of Zerust and other corrosion inhibiting solutions and technologies, is your corrosion management partner. Delivering comprehensive corrosion prevention technologies meant to be a part of your overall corrosion management program, NTIC goes beyond just preventing corrosion, we act as your strategic partner in end-to-end corrosion management, from planning to post-deployment.

This article is subjected to copyrights and must not be reproduced without the permission of the author. In case, approved by the author, link attributions and copyrights must be maintained as in the original format.

You can find more articles on corrosion prevention an corrosion control in our new area of corrosionist.com.

The Essential Components for Corrosion

2011-03-20T10:09:00.001-07:00

How to remove rust and corrosion

2011-02-09T05:16:00.000-08:00

How to Remove Rust and Corrosion

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

Rust is the result of the corrosion of iron. All metals, if placed in contact with the "right" environments or fluids, will corrode. Stainless steel can also develop a form of corrosion or develop small red spots if contaminated with iron. This "how to" will guide you in selecting the right methods to remove rust or corrosion from your object.

Steps

Define exactly the material of your object. This can be obvious, but most of the mistake came from obvious think. An iron object or steel object will develop rust on large extent of the surface. Iron is magnetic, so it will attract a magnet. This is a simple method to distinguish between iron and stainless steel. Stainless Steel will develop very small, localized, red spot. Silver will develop the typical black patina.
Note that there are several methods to remove rust and corrosion products:
- Mechanical methods such as grinding, blasting
- Chemicals such as acids, gel
- Rust converter — this will not remove the corrosion products but convert into a more stable material
- Electrolysis — apply a current that will "revert" the corrosion product back to the original material, this a technique applicable to small object.
Make your choice. The final choice is a function of different factors:
- Extent of the surface to be treated: using chemical of electrolysis for very large surfaces could be very difficult if not impossible. A sand blasting is the faster method for very large surfaces.
- Value of the object to be treated — if it's a precious metal or an artistic object, using a mechanical methods can destroy the value of the object.
- Your manual skill and manual ability to use mechanical tools and chemicals
- Tools available — if you already owns some mechanical tools then this could be your first choice.

Tips

If you're not sure about the best methods ask to an expert. Incorrect methods can destroy your object.

Warnings

Mechanical and Chemical methods can be very harmful so be very careful

Related wikiHows

Sources and Citations

How does rust forms Information on the mechanisms of formations of rust.

Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Remove Rust and Corrosion. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

Best Corrosion Forum

2011-01-20T15:05:00.000-08:00

We are looking for the best Corrosion Forum, Please send us your comments and suggestions.

Rust Video

2010-11-02T11:46:00.000-07:00

On YouTube is possible to find videos on everything.. and we've found videos on Corrosion & Rust... This is the first interesting on how to make rust with a simple experiment.

New method for Corrosion Education

2010-10-12T10:13:00.000-07:00

Sometimes books and articles on Corrosion are boring, they just seem all the same thing.

Animations and videos are a great idea to help student and people looking for information on what is Corrosion and how corrosion works.

CorrConnect is a fresh new interactive Multimedia website designed to educate users about corrosion in a unique and engaging way. It offers free courses, videos and games.

You can find games on how to design an impressed current systems, the life cycle of metal and much more.. you can learn and have have fun at the same time.

Selecting a Pump for Seawater Service

2010-10-07T02:37:00.000-07:00

Selecting the materials of construction for a pump in seawater, brine and other corrosive services.

Seawater is one of the most corrosive environments where even corrosion resistant alloy like Stainless Steels can fail due to localized types of corrosion like Pitting Corrosion or Crevice Corrosion.

We've posted a good article on this issue and now is time for another fundamental document on how to select Materials for Pumps in Saline Water and Brine services.

It's a paper written ny NIDI - The Nickel Development Institute, one of the most important source of free publication on Nickel Alloys corrosion, properties and material selection:

Materials for Saline Water, Desalination and Oilfield Brine Pumps. - NIDI n° 11004.

This paper gives a brief description on the corrosivity of seawater, corrosion types and practical examples of material selection for pumps.

If you'are looking for more papers and documents on material selection for seawater service

Free Paper on Corrosion

2010-10-05T09:58:00.000-07:00

On the net is possible to find a lot of free interesting papers on Corrosion and Materials.

The big problem is that usually these papers are hidden somewhere and is not so easy to find them.

For example today w've discovered, thanks to an email sent to us , the website of a Corrosion Consultant with more than 60 free papers on:

Corrosion in high temperature high-pressure water systems

Influence of process conditions on corrosion (heat flux, mass flow and water-steam ratio)
Effect of water treatment and fouling on corrosion
Erosion-Corrosion in wet steam
Stress Corrosion Cracking in nuclear and conventional power plants
Stress Corrosion Cracking in district heat systems

Corrosion under fireside conditions

Coal gasification
Low NOx firing and waste incineration
Chloride induced corrosion
Sulfidation
Downtime corrosion
Corrosion assisted cracking (Alligator Skin Cracking)
KEMCOP® technique (KEMA Corrosion Probe). A discontinuous Corrosion monitoring technique for following the quality of the fire side oxide layer in coal fired boilers and waste incineration plants during full operation. Enrichment of the radioactive lead deposits from condensation can be followed with this technique

Corrosion in gas ducts

Dew point Corrosion
Corrosion monitoring techniques
Stress Corrosion Cracking in waste heat boilers

Important too

Microbiological Induced Corrosion (MIC)
Thermodynamic calculations for understanding corrosion and deposition mechanisms
Broad knowledge of oxide and corrosion scales structures

In this page of Corrosionist.com you can find other links to site with free corrosion papers: http://www.corrosionist.com/corrosion_materials_technical_papers.htm.

Share information is important, if you know of other website with good free information on Corrosion, Corrosion Protection, Corrosion Control.. Rust... just send us an email

How to select a pump for seawater service

2010-09-25T01:02:00.000-07:00

The process of material selection is a complex task that should be performed by someone with a real knowledge on corrosion and materials.

The are great documents and tutorials that can help u in this difficult process as for example this:

Material Selection for Seawater Pumps
http://turbolab.tamu.edu/uploads/files/papers/p26/ch09_Morrow.pdf

It's a well written article with a clear explanation of the most common corrosion mechanisms in seawater and suggested material selection based on cost / reliability.

We think that it can be a good starting point when you need to evaluate new or existing pumps for a seawater service.

Corrosion Engineering, Science and Technology. Free content, and much more!

2010-09-11T11:16:00.000-07:00

Sometimes we find a great news for all involved in corrosion science, three years of the journal "Corrosion Engineering, Science and Technology" from Maney Publishing are available completely free of charge from 1 September to 15 October 2010, see more below.

View FREE CONTENT online!

From 1 September to 15 October 2010 we are lifting all access restrictions on three years of CEST content to make it available to you completely free of charge.

http://www.maney.co.uk/index.php/journal-of-the-month-cst

find out more free publications on Corrosion Protection, Control and Prevention on Corrosionist.com

Galvanic Corrosion

2010-09-10T09:50:00.000-07:00

Galvanic Corrosion is probably the most searched and misterious corrosion mechanims..

There are forum posts everywhere on this issue but is very difficult to find good informations on how to prevent and control this type of damage.
This is one of the best document on Galvanic Corrosion in particular for Stainless Steel that you can find on the net, it's free from NIDI.

Stainless Steel in Waters: Galvanic Corrosion and its Prevention
http://www.nickelinstitute.org/index.cfm/ci_id/17145/la_id/1/document/1/re_id/0

You can find other good info on Corrosionist.com:

Galvanic Corrosion

Corrosionist Team

Follow us on Linked In

2010-09-03T10:15:00.000-07:00

Approx 1 years ago i've created a new group on Corrosion in LinkedIn. Today Corrosion Group reached 500 members.
It's a great place to share information, find useful documents, maybe find a new job also or get in touch with old frineds and colleagues..
Join us:

Corrosion Group on LinkedIn

hope you'll find it useful and interesting

How to weld Stainless Steel

2010-02-17T07:24:00.000-08:00

This is one of the most asked question that we've found on several different Forum "How to weld Stainless Steel?", "what rod or filler metal i've to select to weld a SS304 to...".. and many others very similar..

Probably a lot of people is not aware of where and how to find the correct information when dealing with this problem.

This is why we've created a page of our site where we've iserted link to the most useful, i mean for us, information on How to weld Stainless Steel.

Have a look and tell us what you think and how we could improve the quality of our service..

Welding Stainless Steel

Clean Alkaline Battery Corrosion

2010-01-28T02:39:00.000-08:00

How to Clean Alkaline Battery Corrosion?

This is an introduction to Alkaline Battery Corrosion and a guide on How to Clean Alkaline Battery Corrosion, we recommned that you follow all the safety instructions of the Battery Supplier.

The composition of an Alkaline Battery is:

Manganese Dioxide
Zinc
Potassium Hydroxide – KOH - (35%)
Graphite

When batteries are left unused for long time or are damaged there is the possibility of a leakage visible as a white powder in correspondence of the battery’s electrode that is caused by the alkaline battery corrosion.

The white powder seen on a leaked battery is Potassium Hydroxide that is used as electrolyte in alkaline battery or zinc / zinc oxide.

Potassium Hydroxide (KOH), known also as caustic potash and used in the soap and bleach industry, in concentrated solution is toxic and very corrosive for the skin and great care is necessary in handling this type of chemical substance.

The leakage can be the result of the corrosion of the zinc electrode or of a mechanical damage of the battery.

The mechanism of zinc corrosion in an alkaline battery is complex because it involves different factors like the type of electrolyte, operating conditions (temperature, rate of discharge …), and properties of the zinc electrode.

Corrosion of the zinc electrode in batteries is one the main factors for self discharge, short shelf life, and evolution of hydrogen gas with consequent failure of the batteries and release of chemical substances.

When a white powder is found on a battery electrode the recommendation is to avoid any contact with the chemical substance leaked from the battery and in case is appropriate to wear protective gear like protective glove (like neoprene, rubber or latex gloves) and safety glasses.

The damaged battery shall be disposed as indicated by the battery supplier.

Recommendations on How to clean alkaline battery corrosion:

If it’s known that a battery has been left unused for long time carefully inspect the surface for any sign of leakage;
If the surface of the battery is rusted carefully remove the battery and dispose as recommended by the battery supplier or local authority
If a white powder is found on the battery or in the electrical apparatus wear protective gloves and glasses before removing the battery and cleaning
The white powder is easily removed with vinegar and water