Apparent Inversion of the Effect of Alloyed Molybdenum for Corrosion of Ordinary and Enhanced 316L Stainless Steel in Sulfuric Acid

An aging assessment of the OPG waste resin storage system predicted the potential for premature failure of the carbon steel resin liners. Consequently, resin liners made of 316L stainless steel with a minimum content of 2.5% molybdenum were selected to replace the carbon steel liners. The 2.5% Mo 316L stainless steel was specified to enhance pitting resistance in the spent resin environment. With the additional Mo, one would expect that a brief electrochemical corrosion test will reveal the superiority of such alloy over conventional 316L steel. This study reports a contrary experience