Electrochemical detection of corrosion product fouling in high temperature and high pressure solution

•Electromagnet supported glassy carbon is used to collect magnetite particles.•EIS is used to probe particle–electrode interaction at elevated temperatures.•Double-layer capacitance is a measure of electrode particle loading.

Particulate fouling due to corrosion product (often magnetite) sedimentation plays an important role in materials integrity and water chemistry of heat exchangers, particularly in the nuclear industry. Fouling detection and monitoring is a key strategy for both water chemistry and corrosion control. A new experimental method for the detection of magnetite particles at temperatures up to 473 K is presented here. An electromagnetic glassy carbon (GC) electrode was employed to collect the magnetite particles (0.25–10 mg dm−3) from the suspension solution. It was observed that by applying a magnetic field of 0.75 T perpendicular to the GC surface and tracking the variation of the electrical double layer (EDL) capacitance one can estimate the mass load on the surface of the electrode.