Corrosion evaluation of alloys and MCrAlX coatings in molten carbonates for thermal solar applications

Stainless steels (SS) 310, 321, 347, Incoloy 800H (In800H), alumina-forming austenitic (AFA-OC6), Ni superalloy Inconel 625 (IN625), and MCrAlX (M: Ni, and/or Co; X: Y, Hf, Si, and/or Ta) coatings were corroded in molten carbonates in N2 and bone-dry CO2 atmospheres. Electrochemical tests in molten eutectics K2CO3-Na2CO3 and Na2CO3-K2CO3-Li2CO3 at temperatures higher than 600 °C were evaluated using an open-circuit potential followed by a potentiodynamic polarization sweep to determine the corrosion rates. Because the best-performing alloys at 750 °C were In800H followed by SS310, these two alloys were selected as the substrate material for the MCrAlX coatings. The coatings were able to mitigate corrosion in molten carbonates environments. The corrosion of substrates SS310 and In800H was reduced from ~2500 µm/year to 34 µm/year when coated with high-velocity oxyfuel (HVOF) NiCoCrAlHfSiY and pre-oxidized (air, 900 °C, 24 h, 0.5 °C/min) before molten carbonate exposure at 700 °C in bone-dry CO2 atmosphere. Metallographic characterization of the corroded surfaces showed that the formation of a uniform alumina scale during the pre-oxidation seems to protect the alloy from the molten carbonate attack.