OUTOKUMPU’S CORROSION KNOWLEDGE GUIDE

Corrosion resistant
stainless steel
for pulp and paper
processes
Ever since stainless steels were first introduced, Several corrosion resistant stainless steels have been developed specifically with
the aim of solving corrosion problems within this particular industry. In many ways,
the pulp and paper industry has been one of the the stainless steel and pulp and paper industries have developed together. This
most important users of this corrosion resistant development process is continuing to identify the best stainless steels to employ in
material. different process areas.

CORROSION KNOWLEDGE GUIDE: CORROSION RESISTANT STAINLESS STEEL FOR PULP AND PAPER PROCESSES outokumpu.com
 Contents

Chemical pulp........................................................4
Sulfate pulping process................................................................. 4

Chemical recovery..................................................7
Storage of alkaline pulping liquors................................................. 7
Black liquor evaporation................................................................ 8
Recovery boilers............................................................................. 9
Black liquor gasification................................................................. 9

Sulfite pulping process.........................................10

Bleaching of chemical pulp...................................11

Oxygen delignification (O)............................................................. 11
Alkaline extraction (E).................................................................. 12
Chlorine (C) and chlorine dioxide (D)........................................... 13
Hydrogen peroxide (P) and ozone (Z)........................................... 14

Pulp from non-wood cellulose...............................16

Mechanical pulping processes.............................. 17

Pulping.......................................................................................... 17
Bleaching of mechanical pulp...................................................... 18

Recycled fiber (RCF).............................................19

Paper making......................................................20
Suction rolls.................................................................................. 21

CORROSION KNOWLEDGE GUIDE: CORROSION RESISTANT STAINLESS STEEL FOR PULP AND PAPER PROCESSES 2
 In general, the use of stainless steels has gained ground
at the expense of carbon steels. While the classic
stainless steels Core 304L/4307 and Supra 316L/4404
are commonly used, the trend has been to switch to
duplex steels in different equipment depending on the
aggressiveness of the environment.
Duplex stainless steel was introduced to the pulp and
paper industry as early as 1932 when some calorifiers
manufactured from a 25 % Cr steel were installed in a
Swedish sulfite mill. These calorifiers were assembled by
riveting – reflecting a lack of developed welding techniques,
but also providing a clue as to why it took so long for
duplex stainless steels to become more common within
this industry. Most duplex applications were castings
or forgings, but several components were also made of
welded plate. It was not until the 1970s that modern steel
processing enabled large-scale production of low-carbon
and high-nitrogen duplex steels with the good weldability
they possess today.
CORROSION KNOWLEDGE GUIDE: CORROSION RESISTANT STAINLESS STEEL FOR PULP AND PAPER PROCESSES
Due to its microstructure, the mechanical strength of
duplex stainless steels is approximately twice as high as
for conventional austenitic steels. This provides benefits in
terms of reduced thickness and reduced weight as well as
a higher resistance to stress corrosion cracking, fatigue and
abrasive conditions. A further explanation of the increased
popularity of duplex steels is that they are less sensitive to
price fluctuations of raw materials, as they contain a lower
amount of nickel (and sometimes also molybdenum), than
the austenitic steels. Consequently, duplex stainless steels
have become the first choice when process equipment is
brought up to date, new equipment is installed or when
replacing failed components.
A growing concern for the environment has led to a number
of new processes being introduced and existing processes
being modified. Effluent recycling has also become more
common in modern plants. The positive environmental
benefits of “closing up” the mills have been accompanied
by a rise in the concentrations of chemicals used in
process streams, and in operating temperatures. These
factors have drastically increased the demands made on
the corrosion resistance of the structural materials used.
3
 Chemical pulp
The basic raw material for papermaking is cellulose, which
occurs in the form of fibers in a wide variety of growing
plants. The cellulose in wood is associated with a variety of
“impurities” such as lignin, the middle lamella in the wood,
which cements the fibers together. Cooking the wood
together with chemicals, at high temperature and high
pressure, produces a chemical pulp. This is carried out in a
large pressure vessel – the digester, see Figure 1.

During cooking, the chemicals in the liquor react with the

lignin in the wood, forming soluble compounds, which then
can be removed by washing. The cooking liquor may be
alkaline (sulfate or kraft) or acidic (sulfite). Currently, the
great majority of processes are alkaline.

Sulfate pulping process

Cooking
Because of the high pH of the white cooking liquor, the
conditions of the sulfate process are quite mild when
compared with those of the sulfite process. Carbon steel
is still used to some extent, although it is not corrosion
resistant.

Fig. 1. Continuous digester at Veracel in Brazil. The digester was

manufactured from Forta DX 2205.

CORROSION KNOWLEDGE GUIDE: CORROSION RESISTANT STAINLESS STEEL FOR PULP AND PAPER PROCESSES 4
 Developments in material selection have passed through
different stages. Stainless steel was, for many years,
regarded as an overqualified material for kraft digesters.
However, process changes resulting in harsher operating
conditions, and some failures of mild steel digesters, have
emphasized the need for corrosion resistant construction
materials.
The first installations of stainless steel lining in kraft
digesters were made as early as the late 1950s while clad
steel first came into use approximately 10 years later. The
first solid stainless steel kraft digesters were manufactured
using cold-stretched austenitic steel. Cold stretching went
out of fashion when duplex stainless steel, mainly
Forta DX 2205 (1.4462), was introduced for pulp digesters
in the late 1980s, enabling designs in solid high-strength
stainless steel without the extra operation required for cold
stretching.
The first batch sulfate pulp digesters made of duplex
stainless steel were erected in New Zealand in 1988.
Two batch digesters, each of 125 m3 capacity, were
manufactured as knocked down vessels in Avesta, Sweden
and assembled at the site. Following the success of the
project nearly all modern pulp digesters are made out of
solid duplex stainless steel.
CORROSION KNOWLEDGE GUIDE: CORROSION RESISTANT STAINLESS STEEL FOR PULP AND PAPER PROCESSES
Besides the high strength of duplex stainless steels, they
also have the advantage of superior corrosion resistance in
kraft digester liquors compared with other materials such
as carbon steel, austenitic stainless steel and nickel base
alloys). Field tests in operating digesters and liquor heaters
have shown that the corrosion resistance increases as the
chromium content in the stainless steel increases.
Molybdenum on the other hand, is not as beneficial
as in pH-neutral, or slightly acidic chloride containing
environments. In fact, molybdenum has been found to
be detrimental in hot alkaline solutions. Consequently,
stainless steels containing high chromium and low
molybdenum content have the highest corrosion resistance
in kraft liquors. This makes the leaner duplex steels, such
as Forta LDX 2101 and Forta EDX 2304, excellent choices
for kraft digesters.
Corrosion problems have been found to be more severe
in batch digesters than in continuous ones, probably due
to the cyclic operation and differences in liquor charges
compared to the continuous process. Short-term laboratory
tests indicate that duplex steels may also experience
measurable thinning in an extremely corrosive batch
digester, but the duplex steels nevertheless perform far
better than the classic austenitic steels – Core 304L/4307
and Supra 316L/4404.
5
 Some wear problems have been solved by changing from In the 1970s, prior to the recycling of wash waters,
carbon steel and austenitic stainless steels to duplex carbon steel was a common material used for brown
stainless steels. Applications range from chip steaming stock washers. As recycling became common, minor
equipment, where changing from Core 304L/4307 to constituents such as chlorides, thiosulfate and polysulfide
a duplex steel solved wear problems and put an end to increased, required upgrading to Core 304L/4307 and
stress corrosion cracking, to batch digester blow tanks and Supra 316L/4404 depending upon pH and chloride
flash cyclones after continuous digesters. Duplex stainless concentration. Duplex stainless steel such as
steels have also solved many corrosion problems in liquor Forta LDX 2101 and Forta EDX 2304 are today the
heaters, where carbon steel suffered severe corrosion preferred choice since there can be a considerable amount
caused by the white liquor. of sand and grit carry-over in the white liquor. Duplex
steels have the advantage of being more resistant to these
Brown stock washing abrasive conditions.
It might be expected that the use of lower alloyed steels
would provide adequate resistance for washing and
screening the pulp, compared to cooking it. However,
the relatively non-aggressive conditions in the liquors
are a result of the high pH. In brown stock washing, the
environment is to a large extent determined by the shower
water. The increasing use of closed-circuit systems has led
to the use of waters with a higher chloride content, and
in some cases lower pH levels. Corrosion rates of more
than 5 mm per year have been measured on carbon steel
drums.

CORROSION KNOWLEDGE GUIDE: CORROSION RESISTANT STAINLESS STEEL FOR PULP AND PAPER PROCESSES 6
 Chemical recovery
Storage of alkaline pulping liquors
Green and white pulping liquors are mixtures of inorganic
compounds including hydroxide, sulfide, polysulfide,
thiosulfate, sulfate, carbonate and chloride. In addition,
there are dissolved organic compounds in black liquors. For
many years most of the equipment used to handle alkaline
pulping liquors in pulp and paper mills was constructed
using carbon steel with a corrosion allowance. However,
corrosion rates up to 2.5 mm/year have been found in
liquor tanks in carbon steel.
Stainless steels, on the other hand, are highly resistant
to corrosion in most alkaline pulping liquors. The superior
corrosion resistance of duplex stainless steel in kraft
liquors has been well established for over two decades.
CORROSION KNOWLEDGE GUIDE: CORROSION RESISTANT STAINLESS STEEL FOR PULP AND PAPER PROCESSES
Laboratory tests and mill tests have shown that
the traditional austenitic steels – 1.4307/304L and
1.4404/316L, do not always offer enough protection
against either uniform corrosion, erosion corrosion or
caustic stress corrosion cracking, especially in liquors
containing higher solid contents. Therefore, the most
practical construction materials are duplex stainless steel.
Since a high chromium content and a low molybdenum
content confers greater corrosion resistance on
stainless steels in alkaline liquors, Forta LDX 2101 and
Forta EDX 2304 may now be the preferred material of
choice for the most corrosive service environments. By
employing duplex steels, not only is corrosion minimized, it
is also possible to reduce the thickness and therefore the
weight of the storage tank. This approach offers the twin
benefits of low maintenance and investment costs.
7
 Black liquor evaporation
After separation from the pulp in the brown stock washers,
weak black liquor at concentrations of about 15 % solids is
pumped to a multiple-effect evaporator in which solids are
concentrated. See Figure 2.

Most concentrators operate at 65–70 % dry solids with

an associated liquor temperature of about 120–140 °C.
Concentrators operating at these relatively low
concentrations and temperatures have not normally
experienced any significant corrosion problems. However,
there is a clear trend towards higher temperatures
and concentrations of dry solids (80–90 %) in the final
evaporator stage prior to the recovery boiler. This improves
combustion in the recovery boiler and allows production
increases in the fiber line. These developments place
greater demands on construction materials.

Carbon steel may still provide satisfactory corrosion

resistance in the bodies of the first two or three
evaporation vessels, especially where liquor temperatures
Fig. 2. Evaporators at Aracruz Celulose and Stora Enso’s mill Veracel
are low (< 90 °C). In multiple-vessel evaporators stainless in Brazil.
steel is always used from the third or fourth to the final
vessel as well as in concentrators, this is usually
Core 304L/4307. In liquors concentrated to higher
than about 70 % dry solids, Core 304L/4307 and Supra Forta LDX 2101, Forta EDX 2304 and Forta DX 2205 are
316L/4404 concentrator tubing are subjected to both preferred in high-solid concentrators due to their better
significant uniform corrosion and to caustic stress resistance to uniform corrosion and to caustic stress
corrosion cracking. corrosion cracking.

CORROSION KNOWLEDGE GUIDE: CORROSION RESISTANT STAINLESS STEEL FOR PULP AND PAPER PROCESSES 8
 Recovery boilers
In the recovery boiler, evaporated black liquor and other
liquors from the plant are burnt. This has two main
functions; to recover chemicals used in the cooking
process and to harness the heat resulting from the
recovery process and convert it into steam energy.
The highest corrosion rates in recovery boilers are found on
the lower furnace tubes where the liquid melt is located.
Changing the tube material from solid carbon steel to
composite tubes with an outer layer of stainless steel
has reduced the maintenance requirements significantly.
These types of tube are routinely used to construct the
lower furnace of the kraft recovery boiler. However, in some
boilers they are susceptible to stress corrosion cracking
and corrosion fatigue.
One remedial approach used by pulp mills involves
replacing the conventional system based on stainless steel
1.4307/304L with alternative composite tube systems
based on more highly alloyed stainless steels or Ni-base
alloys.
For components that come into contact with the molten
melt, austenitic 1.4307/304L is often regarded as an
appropriate material. These spouts do indeed corrode,
but no other material at a reasonable cost has shown
significantly better performance. The life of melt spouts
can be increased substantially by increasing the flow of
cooling water to reduce the surface temperature of parts
coming in contact with the flowing melt.
CORROSION KNOWLEDGE GUIDE: CORROSION RESISTANT STAINLESS STEEL FOR PULP AND PAPER PROCESSES
Duplex stainless steel Forta DX 2205 is usually a good
material for recovery boiler stacks that experience
dew-point corrosion. The highly abrasive conditions in the
salt cake mix tank make the use of duplex stainless steel
Forta DX 2205 an increasingly common practice, as is the
use of duplex stainless steel for pumps and piping.
Black liquor gasification
During the last decade, extensive efforts have been made
to develop alternative recovery technologies based on
black liquor gasification to supplement and/or replace the
conventional recovery boiler. One of the major driving forces
is the possibility of using the product gas for combined-
cycle power generation. Studies have indicated that this
has the potential for a significant increase in the amount of
electrical power that can be produced from the black liquor.
As these processes are alkaline, stainless steels with high
chromium content and low molybdenum content have the
highest resistance, such as Forta LDX 2101 and
Forta EDX 2304.
9
 Sulfite pulping process
The production of sulfite pulp is much lower than the
production of kraft pulp and is used more for special
purposes rather than being an alternative pulp grade.
Apart from printing and specialty papers, a special grade
of sulfite pulp, known as “dissolving pulp’’ is used to make
cellulose derivatives which in turn can be transformed to
textile fiber and chemicals.
The sulfite pulping process originally contained high levels
of acid and used calcium as the base. Alkaline bases
have since been introduced, but sulfite pulping often still
involves acid and/or neutral cooking liquors. Ordinary
carbon steels and lower alloyed stainless steels corrode
rapidly in these liquids. Not until the molybdenum-alloyed
stainless steels like 1.4404/1.4432 were developed was
there a structural material capable of coping with both the
corrosive sulfite cooking acids and the high pressure in the
digesters.
CORROSION KNOWLEDGE GUIDE: CORROSION RESISTANT STAINLESS STEEL FOR PULP AND PAPER PROCESSES
These austenitic steels, containing some 2–3 %
molybdenum, were called “acid proof” in recognition of
their higher resistance to cooking acids. They were often
supplied in the cold-stretched condition, or in the form
of clad steel, in order to reduce overall investment costs.
Today, Forta DX 2205 is often specified and has become
the principal construction material due to its higher
mechanical strength and its excellent resistance to
pitting and stress corrosion cracking.
As a general rule, Supra 316L/4404 is the lowest alloyed
steel that should be used for cooking, washing, screening,
and chemical recovery. However, in many applications the
higher corrosion resistance and strength of Forta DX 2205
offers valuable benefits. Forta DX 2205 batch digesters,
digester liquor piping, liquor and stock tanks have been
in service in a bisulfite mill since 1992 and have shown
no signs of corrosion or cracking. Liquor piping made of
1.4432 (>2.5 % Mo) austenitic stainless steel previously
suffered corrosion at the same mill.
10
 Bleaching of chemical pulp
The purpose of bleaching is to remove remaining dark-
colored lignin impurities in the pulp to meet certain
quality criteria. Bleaching is carried out in several stages.
In modern mills, it starts with oxygen delignification for a
reduction of the consumption of more expensive bleaching
chemicals and a reduced effluent load from the bleach
plant.
The predominant bleaching methods are Elemental
Chlorine Free (ECF) and Totally Chlorine Free (TCF). In
classic chlorine bleaching, molecular chlorine or chlorine
gas are used with other chlorine-containing chemicals such
as hypochlorite. For environmental and quality reasons
other bleaching chemicals are replacing molecular chlorine
and hypochlorite. In TCF bleaching the available chemicals
are oxygen, hydrogen peroxide, ozone and peracids. In
ECF bleaching chlorine dioxide is used with chlorine-
free chemicals. Materials for bleach plant equipment
are undergoing major changes for several reasons, with
controlling water and air pollution within stipulated limits
is the most important of them. Accordingly, as part of
pollution control measures, the paper mills are renovating
their bleach sequences by introducing a chlorine dioxide
(D) bleach stage and/or substituting chlorine partly by
chlorine dioxide (CD). Growing concern about environmental
degradation has forced an active search for total chlorine
free (TCF) bleaching sequences.
CORROSION KNOWLEDGE GUIDE: CORROSION RESISTANT STAINLESS STEEL FOR PULP AND PAPER PROCESSES
Changes in the bleach process affects the corrosiveness
of the liquid media, which in turn affects the selection of
construction materials.
Oxygen delignification (O)
Oxygen bleaching, also called oxygen delignification, is
used in the pulp and paper industry to remove much of
the lignin from unbleached pulp. It reduces the need for
environmentally-unfriendly chlorine-based bleaching agents
elsewhere in the bleach plant. Oxygen delignification can be
regarded partly as a continuation of cooking and partly as
the first stage of bleaching. Today it is a standard stage in
the production of bleached chemical pulp.
In the oxygen delignification stage the pulp is treated with
oxygen in a pressurized vessel at elevated temperature in
an alkaline environment.
When first developed, the oxygen delignification stage was
operated using high consistency pulp. High-consistency
oxygen reactors have a downflow mode, and a vapor space
at the top, which presents a clear risk of process-side
stress corrosion cracking (SCC). Laboratory testing has
confirmed the risk of pitting and stress corrosion cracking
under such conditions and has led to the use of high-
performance steels like Ultra 904L.
11
 Today the vast majority of the O stages operate at medium
consistency with an upward flow in the reactor. High-shear
mixers allow a complete mixing of oxygen gas and the pulp,
and consequently there is a lower risk for SCC, allowing the
use of lower alloyed materials.
Oxygen reactor environments are typically alkaline (pH
10–12), containing chloride ions at concentrations between
50 and 400 ppm (depending on the degree of process
closure and whether the mill is inland or coastal), and have
operating temperatures up to 110 °C. The oxidizing power
of oxygen is not as strong as that of chlorine dioxide, so
high alloyed stainless steels are not required.
Although the stainless steels Core 304L/4307 and
Supra 316L/4404 stand up well to the internal process
environment, External Stress Corrosion Cracking (ESCC)
beneath wet thermal insulation is of great concern for
these types of steels. Duplex stainless steel Forta DX
2205 is resistant to pitting corrosion, crevice corrosion,
process-side SCC and ESCC in oxygen reactor service.
In addition, the leaner duplex steels such as Forta LDX
2101 and Forta EDX 2304 could be good alternatives. The
selection of an appropriate steel will, among other things,
depend on how water is recirculated within the mill.
CORROSION KNOWLEDGE GUIDE: CORROSION RESISTANT STAINLESS STEEL FOR PULP AND PAPER PROCESSES
Alkaline extraction (E)
Extraction stages are intermediate stages in the bleaching
process that aim to dissolve all lignin fragments liberated
in previous oxidizing bleaching stages. In contrast to the
chlorine-based bleaching agents, neither sodium hydroxide
(NaOH) nor the oxidants often added, oxygen (O2) and
hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) are corrosive to stainless steels. It
is true that NaOH might cause corrosion of stainless steels,
but not within the concentrations and temperatures found
in extraction (E) stages. However, when NaOH hydrolyses
the chlorinated lignin, large quantities of chlorides are
liberated.
Despite the combination of high chloride content and
oxidants, Supra 316L/4404, Forta LDX 2101 and Forta
EDX 2304 often provide adequate protection against
corrosion attack, both in the bleaching tower and the
washing equipment, due to the high pH level. However,
minor corrosion damage in E-stage washers is not unusual
in bleach plants with a high degree of water reuse. The
use of a higher alloyed steel such as Forta DX 2205 may
therefore be justified in certain cases. The high strength of
duplex has also been utilized in many pressurized alkaline
extraction towers and wash presses.
12
 Chlorine (C) and chlorine dioxide (D)
For a long time, corrosion of stainless steel has been a
problem in bleach plants. Many extensive investigations
have been performed in Scandinavia and North America
and it is clear that the C and D stages are responsible for
the major corrosion problems and costs.

For environmental reasons elementary chlorine has been

excluded as a bleaching agent in Swedish pulp mills, but
chlorine dioxide is still used to a large extent. The corrosive
conditions caused by chlorine and chlorine dioxide have
more or less limited the use of stainless steels to the
washing equipment of these C and D stages. The high
molybdenum austenitic steel Ultra 254 SMO has solved
many of the corrosion problems and is now regarded as the
standard material for the C and D stage washers. The first
installations using this steel were carried out at the end
of the 1970s. The results have been excellent and many
filters of this type are still in use today. Forta SDX 2507
offers comparable corrosion resistance to Ultra 254 SMO,
but with considerably greater strength and reduced thermal
expansion.

CORROSION KNOWLEDGE GUIDE: CORROSION RESISTANT STAINLESS STEEL FOR PULP AND PAPER PROCESSES 13
 As the corrosiveness declines as the bleaching agent is
consumed and due to dilution of the pulp and the fact
that sulfur dioxide is often used to reduce the amount of
residual chlorine, the corrosiveness of the pulp suspension
in some cases is mild enough to be handled by Forta DX
2205. In fact, studies have shown that when comparing
corrosion attack, mechanical strength, cost and fabrication
aspects, Forta DX 2205 turns out to be the optimum steel
in pulp bleaching service.
Concentrated ClO2 solutions, on the other hand, for
example in the mixer or tower inlet pipe, are too corrosive
for stainless steels. Therefore, titanium, tile or fiberglass
reinforced plastic (FRP) are often used in these locations.
Chloride contents of several thousand ppm, combined with
residual chlorine contents of 50 ppm or more, involve a
risk of corrosion for most steels, including Ultra 254 SMO
and Forta SDX 2507, particularly in any gaseous phase
section. The residual chlorine content in the pipe between
the mixer and the tower has occasionally shown to be too
high for these steels and corrosion has been reported from
several mills using Ultra 254 SMO in this position. Titanium
offers a higher safety margin regarding corrosion resistance
but Ultra 254 SMO and Forta SDX 2507 are superior to
titanium in two respects. This is because Ultra 254 SMO
and Forta SDX 2507 equipment intended for chlorine and
chlorine dioxide bleaching can also be used for hydrogen
peroxide and are they are stronger than titanium.
CORROSION KNOWLEDGE GUIDE: CORROSION RESISTANT STAINLESS STEEL FOR PULP AND PAPER PROCESSES
Besides titanium, some nickel-base alloys such as Alloy
C-276 and C-22 have been used when the resistance of
stainless steels to pitting and crevice corrosion has been
found to be insufficient. However, Ni-base alloys are very
vulnerable to transpassive corrosion in ClO2 and should be
totally avoided in the bleach plant. Uniform corrosion rates
of 2.5 mm/year have been reported, together with cases of
widespread pitting. As a consequence, when welding Ultra
254 SMO and similar materials, it is necessary to use an
iron-based filler material rather than traditional nickel-base
electrodes as the latter may mean a risk of transpassive
corrosion of the weld material.
Hydrogen peroxide (P) and ozone (Z)
Ozone as a bleaching chemical has to a large extent
reduced and replaced the use of chlorine-based chemicals
in acidic pulp bleaching stages. Ozone can be used both
in elementary chlorine-free bleaching processes, where
it replaces gaseous chlorine, and in totally chlorine-
free bleaching where ozone replaces chlorine dioxide.
Pressurized peroxide stages are an advantage in totally
chlorine-free bleaching by making it possible to achieve a
high final brightness.
In sequences with chlorine dioxide, a powerful peroxide
stage will reduce the consumption of chlorine dioxide or
even replace one chlorine dioxide stage.
14
 Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and under most conditions also
ozone (O3), are harmless to stainless steels, even at fairly
high concentrations and high temperatures. Although
both are very strong oxidants, like Cl2 and ClO2, the use of
these compounds as bleaching agents avoids introducing
chlorides that might break down the passive layer of the
stainless steels under oxidizing conditions. Experience has
shown that Supra 316L/4404 is in most cases resistant
enough in such oxygen rich bleaching environments,
provided that halides are only present in trace amounts.
However, care should be taken to avoid external stress
corrosion cracking (ESCC) under wet insulation. Duplex
stainless steels appear to be resistant to ESCC in pulp
and paper mill environments while austenitic stainless
steels such as 1.4307/304L and 1.4404/316L are very
susceptible to ESCC. Taking this into account and that even
modest amounts of halides in combination with ozone or
hydrogen peroxide mean a high risk of localized attack on
low-alloyed steels, Forta DX 2205 is a very suitable choice
for ozone bleaching processes.

The conditions are slightly less corrosive in peroxide stages

operating at a high pH (pH 10–11) compared to the acid
environments often found at ozone stages (pH 2.5–3),
making the leaner duplex steels such as Forta LDX 2101
and Forta EDX 2304 suitable candidate steels in peroxide
bleaching processes. These steels are excellent in handling
the high pressure and temperatures, allowing significant
cost savings.

CORROSION KNOWLEDGE GUIDE: CORROSION RESISTANT STAINLESS STEEL FOR PULP AND PAPER PROCESSES 15
 Pulp from non-wood
cellulose
Non-wood materials (agricultural residues, reed, grass and
straw) contain high amounts of silicon compounds, which
dissolve during pulping. As a result, silicon compounds
accumulate in the chemical recovery cycle, preventing
the recovery of chemicals and dissolved material. In
conventional alkaline pulping methods of non-wood
materials, glazing and clogging arise by dissolution of
silicon to the cooking liquor. The solution to this problem
has normally been to discharge effluent into waterways.
The production of non-wood pulp and paper has a long
tradition in Asian countries, particularly in China and India.
With the rapid growth in the Asian economies, paper
consumption is also growing very rapidly. This growth,
together with the steady acceleration in paper consumption
worldwide, diminishing forest resources, and the enormous
technological and environmental problems associated with
existing non-wood mills represent major challenges for the
pulp and paper industry.
There are a number of alternative chemical pulping
technologies that are under development which possibly
offer a solution to these challenges. In many of these
alternative technologies organic acids are used as the
pulping chemical.
CORROSION KNOWLEDGE GUIDE: CORROSION RESISTANT STAINLESS STEEL FOR PULP AND PAPER PROCESSES
The fiber line in these alternative processes is similar to
other conventional pulp processes. It starts with cooking
and is followed by washing, screening and bleaching stages.
The main differences are the cooking chemicals and their
recovery. Cooking is usually operated in formic acid. The
recovery comprises evaporation and distillation of the acid.
The regenerated acid is circulated to cooking while the
dissolved solid is dried.
Lignin can further be used for processing in the chemical
industry or it can be burned in an ordinary power boiler. The
bleaching takes place under alkaline, hydrogen peroxide-
based conditions.
The conditions in the formic acid process are far more
aggressive than in conventional alkaline processes and
require careful material selection. Forta DX 2205 has
adequate corrosion resistance for most washing purposes
but Ultra 254 SMO or Forta SDX 2507 are sometimes
needed for the more aggressive stages. Ni-base or
zirconium alloys are often needed for the digesters, as the
environment in the reactor usually is too aggressive
for any kind of stainless steel.
16
 Mechanical pulping
processes
Pulping
The mechanical production of pulp can be divided into
two categories: groundwood pulp production and Thermo-
Mechanical Pulping (TMP), the latter in some cases has
chemical support – Chemi-Thermo Mechanical Pulping
(CTMP).
In groundwood pulp production, the logs are pressed onto
grinding stones by mechanical presses. The wood is split
into fibers with the help of water. However, most modern
mills use chips rather than logs and ridged metal discs
called refiner plates instead of grindstones. In the TMP
process, the wood is processed into chips, which are
softened by heating in a steaming tube before entry into
the primary refiner. In CTMP the chips are also impregnated
with a cooking chemical such as sodium sulfite. Stainless
steels are the dominant materials for mechanical
pulping, wastepaper pulping and deinking. Although the
corrosion problems with carbon steel have never been as
troublesome as within the chemical pulp industry - not
even when the chips are pre-treated with chemicals in
CTMP processes.
CORROSION KNOWLEDGE GUIDE: CORROSION RESISTANT STAINLESS STEEL FOR PULP AND PAPER PROCESSES
The vast majority of chemicals applied in mechanical
pulping processes do not harm stainless steels. Supra
316L/4404 has shown satisfactory performance in most
cases, and so has Core 304L/4307 at several mills. The
choice is often related more to the degree of water reuse
than to the process and chemicals used. These rather
mildly corrosive environments have still caused some
corrosion of Core 304L/4307 and Supra 316L/4404
equipment. A concern is stress corrosion cracking (SCC)
and corrosion fatigue, particularly with regard to
pressurized steaming tubes, refiner discs, and refiner drive
shafts.
Many of the most severe problems reported to date have
occurred in coastal mills, where high chloride levels have
been encountered, although chlorides are often a problem
for inland mills as well.
Chlorides can be introduced from de-icing salt spilled
on wood in the yard. Even if the chloride content is low,
chlorides can concentrate in crevices, under deposits
and just above the waterline in the vapor phase. Mills
reducing their freshwater usage can also be vulnerable to
unexpected attacks, as contaminated white water from the
paper mill may be fed back to the mechanical pulp mill.
17
 A better alternative to Core 304L/4307 and Supra Alkaline hydrogen peroxide is the most commonly used
316L/4404 is Forta LDX 2101 and Forta EDX 2304 which, bleaching agent for mechanical pulp. The amount of
when their superior strength can be utilized, represent a base such as sodium hydroxide is less than that used in
less expensive choice that offers high wear resistance bleaching chemical pulps and the temperatures are lower.
and comparable corrosion resistance. The duplex steels The corrosive conditions are also clearly less aggressive
have also been used as an upgrade over carbon steel when bleaching mechanical pulps. In mechanical pulp
and abrasion resistant plate in applications where it is not bleach plants Supra 316L/4404 is often used throughout
known whether corrosion or wear/erosion dominates the with good results, in dithionite bleaching stages as well
material loss rate. as in peroxide stages. The trend is to switch from classic
austenitic steels to duplex steels such as Forta LDX 2101
Bleaching of mechanical pulp and Forta EDX 2304.
Mechanical pulps retain most of the lignin present in the
wood used to make the pulp and therefore contain almost
as much lignin as they do cellulose and hemicellulose.
It would be impractical to remove this much lignin by
bleaching, and undesirable since one of the big advantages
of mechanical pulp is the high yield of pulp based on wood
used. Therefore, the objective of bleaching mechanical
pulp (also referred to as brightening) is to remove
only the chromophores (color-causing groups). This is
possible because the structures responsible for color are
susceptible to oxidation or reduction.

CORROSION KNOWLEDGE GUIDE: CORROSION RESISTANT STAINLESS STEEL FOR PULP AND PAPER PROCESSES 18
 Recycled fiber (RCF)
The recycled paper process satisfies more than half the
world’s pulp demand. Recycled pulp is made from paper
and board, which has been used and then recovered, by
one of various waste collection schemes. Fiber separation
is achieved by mechanical agitation in water.

Wastepaper contains impurities of various kinds such

as plastics, metals, printing ink and netting spines from
books, which cause a more abrasive condition than in
other kind of pulping processes. The austenitic stainless
steels Supra 316L/4404 and Supra 316L/4432 have so
far been the dominant construction material for equipment
in RCF processes, from pulping through screening and
cleaning, de-inking, refining and dispersion to bleaching
and color stripping. However, field tests carried out at RCF
mills, together with laboratory erosion-corrosion testing,
have demonstrated that Forta LDX 2101 performs best in
all tested environments and load conditions.

CORROSION KNOWLEDGE GUIDE: CORROSION RESISTANT STAINLESS STEEL FOR PULP AND PAPER PROCESSES 19
 Paper making
The corrosive conditions in the paper mill are to a large
extent determined by the white water circulating from
the paper machine to stock preparation and back again.
As in many other parts of the pulp and paper industry,
construction materials have evolved from wood and
carbon steel, through the 1.4301/304 stainless steels to
1.4404/316L, and at some mills even higher alloyed steels
such as 1.4462/2205.
At present, austenitic “acid proof” 1.4404/316L
is the dominant steel in modern mills. Austenitic
1.4307/304L is still commonly used, but in white water
systems operated under a high degree of closure, even
1.4404/316Lcomponents have shown corrosion failures.
Forta LDX 2101 and Forta EDX 2304 are more and
more taking over the role as standard material in paper
machines.
For machine parts that have to undergo extensive
machining operations, Forta LDX 2101 is an especially
suitable material as it offers far better machinability
properties than the classic austenitic steels.
CORROSION KNOWLEDGE GUIDE: CORROSION RESISTANT STAINLESS STEEL FOR PULP AND PAPER PROCESSES
Unexpected pitting corrosion of 1.4307/304L equipment
has been found in many mills thought to have low levels of
chlorides. In one Finnish mill, piping systems of a new paper
machine started to leak badly after only three months of
service, and the corrosion was due to the presence of
thiosulfate. Since it is generally impracticable to control
chloride and sulfate concentrations, investigations have
suggested that thiosulfate levels must be controlled well
below 5 ppm to avoid pitting of 1.4307/304L in paper
machines.
Even 1.4404/316L can show the same type of thiosulfate
pitting, but only at higher total ionic concentrations, at
higher temperatures, and when chloride is the predominant
anion.
20
 Suction rolls
Suction rolls are tubular components used to remove water
and control the wet paper web during the paper making
process. A suction roll may be the single most expensive
component found in a paper machine. Suction rolls vary
in size from 0.3 m to over 1.8 m in diameter, with lengths
ranging from 2.5 to 10 m and more.

Suction rolls operate in white water environments and are

subjected to high cyclic loads from the rotation of the roll.
This combination has, in the past, led to many suction roll
failures caused by corrosion fatigue.

Austenitic and martensitic stainless steels were used to

replace bronzes as construction materials, to obtain lower
deflections on wide paper machines and to overcome
corrosion problems, but changing operating conditions
placed heavier demands on the suction rolls and corrosion
fatigue remained a problem.

Duplex stainless steels were introduced in suction roll

applications in the 1970s and have shown superior
corrosion fatigue strength in comparison to that of both
austenitic and martensitic steels.

Duplex shell manufacturing can be done either by

centrifugal casting, forging, powder metallurgy or by using
plates, which are rolled into cylinders, welded and heat
treated. One advantage of using rolled and welded plates
is that they provide a re-crystallized structure and therefore
smaller grain size without porosity.

CORROSION KNOWLEDGE GUIDE: CORROSION RESISTANT STAINLESS STEEL FOR PULP AND PAPER PROCESSES 21
 Smaller grains increase the yield strength, the toughness
and corrosion fatigue strength. The latter technology has
allowed the production of the world’s biggest shell, 12 m
in length and with a weight of 65 tonnes, manufactured by
Outokumpu Prefab in Avesta, Sweden.

One member of the duplex family is Avesta 3RE60 SRG,

Suction Roll Grade from Outokumpu (18.5 % Cr, 4.9 %
Ni, 2.8 % Mo, 0.08  % N). Suction roll shells have been
fabricated from plate in this steel since 1973, and more
than 2000 suction roll shells have been supplied to the
market with good service performance.

As a result of increased metal prices, especially of nickel

and molybdenum, a demand for more cost effective
materials has emerged with modern, leaner, duplex steels
gaining substantial market share.

Steel 2304 SRG (a modified version of Forta DX 2304

for better performance in this application), which was
introduced in the late 1990s, has shown excellent service
performance and is today well established as a steel
suitable for most suction roll shell applications. During the
last decade Outokumpu has successfully introduced the
lean duplex stainless steel Forta LDX 2101 as a suction For more details about stainless steel
roll material. With very low nickel and molybdenum content and corrosion please request a copy
and mechanical properties similar to other duplex steels, outokumpu.com
Forta LDX 2101 is a cost efficient alternative, often
of Outokumpu’s Corrosion Handbook.
considered for moderately loaded suction roll shells, and
more than 100 shells in this material have been delivered.

CORROSION KNOWLEDGE GUIDE: CORROSION RESISTANT STAINLESS STEEL FOR PULP AND PAPER PROCESSES 22
Working towards

STAINLESS STEEL FOR PULP AND PAPER PROCESSES

CORROSION KNOWLEDGE GUIDE: CORROSION RESISTANT
a world that
lasts forever
We work with our customers and partners to create
long lasting solutions for the tools of modern life
and the world’s most critical problems: clean energy,
clean water, and efficient infrastructure. Because we
believe in a world that lasts forever.

Information given in this document may be subject to alterations without notice. Care has been taken to
ensure that the contents of this publication are accurate but Outokumpu and its affiliated companies do
not accept responsibility for errors or for information which is found to be misleading. Suggestions for
or descriptions of the end use or application of products or methods of working are for information only
and Outokumpu and its affiliated companies accept no liability in respect thereof. Before using products
supplied or manufactured by the company the customer should satisfy himself of their suitability.

MODA, CORE, SUPRA, FORTA, ULTRA, DURA, THERMA and DECO are trademarks of Outokumpu Oyj.

PRODEC, EDX, FDX, FDX 25, FDX 27, LDX, 253 MA, 254 SMO, 654 SMO, LDX 2101, LDX 2404 are registered
trademarks of Outokumpu Oyj.

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