Which vessels can handle dilute sulphuric acid

When specifying vessel and piping materials for handling and storing corrosive acids and bases, many lean on their educational training, personal experience and familiarity with products. If a carbon steel, stainless steel or fiberglass-reinforced plastic (FRP) vessel was specified for a similar situation in the past, the plant or operations manager is likely to choose it again, regardless of the expected service life. Relying on personal experience can be valuable, unless there is definitively a better option available. Considering alternatives and the reliability they have delivered in existing applications can help plants recognize greater performance, a longer service life and lower lifecycle costs. To accurately evaluate materials, key comparison factors must first be considered. The Most Important Factors for Vessel Material Selection For tank and piping selection in acid storage and distribution, the most important factors dependent on the specific application are: • Performance • Reliability • Value To derive these answers, compare materials according to three factors. Factor #1: Compatibility with the Chemical and Expected Conditions It almost goes without saying that the tank or piping material should be compatible with processing conditions and chemicals. But, compatibility is a spectrum. Very rarely is a material entirely compatible with a specific acid or base. Rather, one material is more compatible than another because it withstands wear better or for a long...

ABSTRACT Sulfuric acid is one of the most important elementary substances of the chemical industry. The acid has found a wide variety of applications in industry today, e.g. fertilizer, chemicals, pigments & paints, petroleum, textiles & films, iron and steel etc.. Because of the changing character of the acid over the concentration, i.e. for concentrations higher than about 85 % the acid becomes oxidizing, there is no stainless steel or even a nickel base alloy available which is suitable over the entire concentration range up to boiling temperature. Alloys like 825 and alloy 20 can be used today only for temperatures up to 50 °C. This paper will give corrosion data in up to 75 % sulfuric acid at boiling temperature for various commercial grades as well as for some new developmental alloys. The influence of copper and silicon additions on the corrosion resistance is described. On the basis of the beneficial influence of some element additions a new alloy modification for service in diluted and medium concentrated sulfuric acid up to boiling temperature was tested. Sulphuric acid (H2SO,) is one of the basic raw materials for the chemical industry. It is used in nu-merous processes as a reagent, as a catalyst and as a drying agent. Examples of the wide-ranging applications of this acid include the treatment of raw phosphates in the fertilizer industry, the treatment of titanium ores for the production of titanium dioxide, the manufacture of phosphoric and hydrofluoric acid ...