Suitability of Some Low Cost Stainless Steels as Fabrication Material in Cane Sugar Industry

Corrosion is the deterioration or destruction of a metal by the surrounding fluids by chemical or electrochemical reaction. Corrosion of process equipment& structures is a common problem in sugar industry too. The effect of some of the process parameters (pH, temperature and Brix) on corrosion rate of different stainless steel alloys in sugar cane juice have been studied. It has been found that the behavior of all the steel alloys (S. S -1, S. S -2, S. S -3 and S. S. -4) with respect to corrosion rate is almost similar with variations in process variables. However, the colour development in cane juice is more in case of S. S. -2 and S. S. -4 as compared to S. S. -1 and S. S. -3.