Corrosion resistances of alloys in high temperature hydrogen iodide gas environment for sulfur-iodine thermochemical cycle

The hydrogen iodide (HI) decomposition process is a limiting step for the efficiency of the sulfur-iodine nuclear hydrogen production process, owing to its low kinetics and complicated reaction characteristics. Therefore, the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) suggested a simple high-temperature HI decomposition process at 650-700 °C for higher efficiency. For practical application of the high-temperature HI decomposition process, along with the catalyst study, we performed structure material selection and corrosion resistance tests. A number of candidate alloys were considered in various aspects and exposed to the high-temperature HI gas environment, which is extremely corrosive, at 850 °C for 100 h. Nine alloys with different nickel and iron compositions have been tested and analyzed. Test results indicated the degrees of resistances to corrosion of each alloy, on the basis of weight change and cross-sectional micrographs. Thus, because of their resistance to internal oxidation and formation of stable external oxide layers, five types of alloys, Haynes 214, aluminizing and inter-diffusion heat-treated or electron beam surface-treated Alloy 617 are suggested as appropriate candidates for fabricating high-temperature HI decomposer. In particular, surface-treatment of Alloy 617 gave it a high stability because of the resultant formation of an Al-rich layer; this was confirmed by experimental results, so IDHT Alloy 617 is recommended as a suitable structural material for fabricating HI decomposer. However, further long-term testing is suggested to ensure safety and confirm applicability.