Rare Earth-Based Compounds as Inhibitors of Hot-Corrosion Induced by Vanadium Salts

In this study, the performance evaluation of lanthanum compounds as corrosion inhibitors of vanadium salts was performed. The inhibitors tested were lanthanum acetate and La₂O₃. The performance of the inhibitors was tested using sodium metavanadate (NaVO₃) as a corrosive medium at 700, 800, and 900 °C. The corrosion inhibitory effect was evaluated on the corrosion process of 304H stainless steel. The corrosion rate of the steel was determined by the mass loss technique after 100 h of immersion in the corrosive salt with and without the addition of the corrosion inhibitor. The results show that lanthanum compounds act as corrosion inhibitors of vanadium salts. The inhibitory effect increases by increasing the concentration and tends to decrease when increasing the test temperature. Lanthanum compounds act as excellent corrosion inhibitors due to their ability to stabilize vanadium cations. Vanadium is stabilized by forming a new compound, lanthanum vanadate (LaVO₄), with a melting point much higher than the compounds formed when Mg or Ni compounds are used as corrosion inhibitors.