Investigation of the effect of different amino-acid derivatives on the inhibition of NST-44 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 NST-44 carbon steel in cassava fluid. Design/methodology/approach - The corrosion rates of the exposed steel were obtained using the weight loss immersion method. The amino-acid 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 NST-44 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. Originality/value - 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.