Oxidation of stainless steel 304L in carbon dioxide

Oxidation of 304L stainless steel in a carbon dioxide atmosphere at 105 Pa has been studied. Between 1193 and 1293 K the oxidation kinetics exhibit first a rapid increase, then a parabolic behaviour with apparent activation energy of (209 ± 8) kJ mol−1 and obeys a Langmuir pressure law. After 1.15 mg cm−2, the kinetics become almost linear.The reaction products are chromia at the grain boundaries, wüstite (Fe1−xO) on the surface for weight gains greater than 0.30 mg cm−2 and chromite. The very complex reaction mechanism takes into account random buckling for weight gains >1.15 mg cm−2.