Corrosion of type 316L stainless steel in molten LiCl–KCl salt

Pyrochemical reprocessing in molten chloride salt medium has been considered as one of the best options for the reprocessing of spent metallic fuels. The AISI 316L stainless steel (SS) is envisaged as a candidate material for the fabrication of components for various unit operations like salt preparation vessel, electro‐refiner and cathode processor, on which ceramic coatings with metallic bond coat will be applied by the thermal plasma spraying. The unit operation like electro‐refining is carried out in the molten lithium chloride–potassium chloride (LiCl–KCl) eutectic salt at 773 K in argon atmosphere. The corrosion behaviour of the container vessel in molten chloride salts is therefore important, hence corrosion tests were carried out in a molten salt test assembly under argon gas atmosphere. The present paper discusses the corrosion behaviour of 316L SS in the molten LiCl–KCl eutectic salt at 873 K. The 316L SS samples were immersed in the molten LiCl–KCl eutectic for 25, 100 and 250 h, while 316L SS with yttria stabilized zirconia coating was exposed for 1000 h. The exposed samples were examined by optical and scanning electron microscope for corrosion attack. The X‐ray mappings of the cross‐section of the degraded layer onto the 316L SS indicated that the mechanism of corrosion corresponds to the selective diffusion of Cr to the surface with the formation of voids below, and the formation of chromium compounds at the surface. The results of the present study indicated that the yttria stabilized zirconia coating onto the 316L SS exhibits a better corrosion resistance in molten chloride salt than with uncoated 316L SS.