Graphitic Corrosion of Cast Iron

Steam Boilers
Today’s water is not the water of the
1950’s, 1960’s and 1970’s

By
Paul Schuelke
Director, Technical Services
Weil-McLain
And effect of:

EPA Lead and Copper Rule in 1991

Wisconsin Dept. of Natural
Lakes in Madison, Wi Area
Resources - 1988
Chloride concentrations in excess
of 250 mg/L are widely
distributed in Oakland County.
They are commonly associated
with high-density lakeshore
communities using on-lot wells
and septic systems.
They are commonly
Chloride associated
concentrations with
in excess
high-density
of 250 lakeshore communities
mg/L are widely
using on-lot wells
distributed and septic
in Oakland County.
systems.
 1997 2007
Catskill-Delaware 8.6 Catskill-Delaware 9
Croton 43.8 Croton 56
Groundwater 48.9 Groundwater 97
 Pennsylvania
 India
 World
Health
Organization
 Natural underground sources
 Road salt
 Road salt storage facilities
 Water softeners
 Septic systems
 Water treatment plants
 Industry
 Fertilizers
 Landfills
 Sea water intrusion
Deterioration of gray cast iron in
which the metallic constituents are
selectively leached or converted to
corrosion products leaving the
graphite intact.
  Graphite is a form of carbon
 Graphite is in cast iron
 Within the cast iron matrix there is
an anode and a cathode

Voltage

Anode Cathode

Iron Graphite
 Fe Fe++ + 2e-

Fe++ + H2O Fe(OH)2

Fe(OH)2 + O2 Fe2O3 + H2O

 Rust (Fe2O3) stays in place
 Water (H2O) is present in the metal
 Needs oxygen (O2) to penetrate the rust to
continue the process
 As the rust thickness increases
◦ Rust becomes a barrier
 It is more difficult for the oxygen to penetrate
the rust to the iron
 Corrosion rate is governed by
◦ Voltage ≈ 2V max.
◦ Conductivity of the water
◦ Temperature of the water
◦ Oxygen in the water
 Voltage is controlled by Metallurgy

 Conductivity and Temperature control

the rate of electron exchange

 Oxygen controls the rate of reaction

 Conductivity is controlled by
◦ Totally Dissolved Solids (TDS)
 Chlorides are part of TDS measurement
 Increasing Chlorides have increased TDS
 Increasing TDS
◦ Increases conductivity
 Resulting in higher corrosion rate
 Conductivity is affected by
Temperature
 Higher temperature
◦ Increases corrosion rate
 IF TDS = 0 there is no conductivity
 Oxygen is in the water
◦ Adding water adds oxygen
 Oxygen continues corrosion process

 Make-up water use is controlled by:

◦ Maintenance
◦ Leaks in the heating system
◦ System design
Lead and Copper Rule or 1991 Rule
 June 7, 1991, The EPA issues
“Lead & Copper Migration Rule”
 To protect public health by reducing lead and
copper entering drinking water from
corrosion of older plumbing materials.
 20% to 25% of the public water systems use
phosphate families of chemicals to comply
 Polyphosphates react with soluble metals by
sequestering (binding) the metal
 Orthophosphates form a domestic water
supply pipe coating
 Phosphate chemicals combined with
dispersant
 Used in conjunction with boiler blow down
 Are an economical solution for controlling
scale
 The phosphates added to comply with EPA
Rule 1991 do not have the dispersant
 Without the dispersant boiler water chemical
treatment is out of balance
 In boiler water, phosphates combine with calcium
to make calcium phosphate
 Calcium phosphate can precipitate and form
sludge
 The sludge concentrates at the boiler water line
 Then bakes-on the heating surface at the water
line and above
 Allowing under deposit corrosion
 That increases the rate of corrosion
 Graphitic Corrosion &
Graphitic Corrosion
Baked-on Sludge