Caustic embrittlement

Caustic embrittlement is the phenomenon in which the material of a boiler becomes brittle due to the accumulation of caustic substances.[1]

Cause
A tube damaged by caustic embrittlement. White caustic deposits can be seen inside.

As water evaporates in the boiler, the concentration of sodium carbonate increases in the boiler. In high pressure boilers, sodium carbonate is used in softening of water by lime soda process, due to this some sodium carbonate maybe left behind in the water. As the concentration of sodium carbonate increases, it undergoes hydrolysis to form sodium hydroxide.

The presence of sodium hydroxide makes the water alkaline. This alkaline water enters minute cracks present in the inner walls of the boiler by capillary action.[2] Inside the cracks, the water evaporates and the amount of hydroxide keeps increasing progressively. The concentrated area with high stress works as anode and diluted area works as cathode .At anode , sodium hydroxide attacks the surrounding material and then dissolves the iron of the boiler as sodium ferrate forming rust. This causes embrittlement of boiler parts like rivets, bends and joints, which are under stress.

Prevention

This can be prevented by using sodium phosphate instead of sodium carbonate as softening reagents. Adding tannin or lignin to boiler water blocks the hair-line cracks and prevents infiltration of NaOH into these areas.[1] Adding Na2SO4 to boiler water also blocks the hair-line cracks.[3]

References
  1. Krishnamurthy; et al. (1 August 2007). Engineering Chemistry. PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd. p. 146. ISBN 978-81-203-3287-4. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
  2. Dr. B.K. Ambasta (1 January 2006). Chemistry for Engineers. Laxmi Publications. p. 94. ISBN 978-81-7008-123-4. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
  3. Sivasankar (2008). Engineering Chemistry. Tata McGraw-Hill Education. p. 513. ISBN 978-0-07-066932-1. Retrieved 11 September 2013.

Further reading
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