Accelerated oxidation of iron induced by Na2SO4 deposits in oxygen at 750°C—A new type low-temperature hot corrosion

Na ₂ SO ₄ -induced accelerated corrosion of iron in oxygen at 750°C was observed. EDX, XRD, SEM, EPMA and some chemical examinations were carried out to understand the corrosion mechanism. The accelerated oxidation was attributed to the formation of abundant sulfide which has a highly defected lattice and allows rapid diffusion of iron ions. The sulfide resulted in turn from the formation of a liquid phase which was a eutectic melt of Na ₂ SO ₄ and Na ₂ O. The formation of and other possible effects of the melt were discussed. The accelerated oxidation was compared with the usual low-temperature hot corrosion, showing that it has most of the characteristics of low-temperature hot corrosion except that it occurred under basic conditions developed by the removal of sulfur from the sulfate deposits instead of the usual acidic conditions established by the SO ₃ in the atmosphere.