Investigation of the effect of different aminoacid derivatives on the inhibition of NST44 carbon steel corrosion in cassava fluid

Purpose This paper aims to present the report of an investigation on the effect of some amino acid based inhibitors on the corrosion characteristics of NST44 carbon steel in cassava fluid. Designmethodologyapproach The corrosion rates of the exposed steel were obtained using the weight loss immersion method. The aminoacid inhibitors investigated included leucine, alanine, methionine and glutamic acid. The corroded surfaces of the specimens were characterized using the optical microscopic techniques. Findings It was observed that alanine showed the highest inhibitive potential on the NST44 carbon steel in the cassava fluid with an average efficiency of about 50 per cent while glutamic acid had the lowest with less than 30 per cent. Leucine and methionine, however, showed considerable benefit, with inhibition efficiencies of about 46 and 45 per cent, respectively. Originalityvalue The results of this work are expected to improve the corrosion resistance of steel that is often used as construction material for the cassava processing industry in Nigeria.