Corrosion of carbon steel in concentrated LiNO3 solution at high temperature

•Corrosion of carbon steel in concentrated LiNO3 solution is investigated.•Increase in temperature and in pH increase carbon steel corrosion.•Increase in LiNO3 concentration and addition of CrO42- reduce carbon steel corrosion.•Carbon steel corrosion in LiNO3 solution is slower than that in LiBr solution.•Passive layer comprises Cr2O3, Fe3O4 and Fe2O3 in the presence of CrO42-.

The corrosion of carbon steel in concentrated LiNO3 solution at high temperature was investigated by a weight loss method. Results showed that increasing temperature and pH would increase the corrosion rate, and increasing concentration and adding Li2CrO4 would reduce the corrosion rate. The corrosion in LiNO3 solution was general corrosion and the corrosion products were composed of Fe3O4 and Fe2O3. A compact passive layer comprising of Cr2O3, Fe3O4 and Fe2O3 was observed with adding Li2CrO4, and it could effectively depress the corrosion. The carbon steel corrosion in LiNO3 solution was much smaller than that in LiBr solution.