THE INHIBITIVE EFFECT OF HYDROXYETHYLCELLULOSE ON MILD STEEL CORROSION IN HYDROCHLORIC ACID SOLUTION

The inhibitive effects of Hydroxyethylcellulose (HEC) as inhibitor for mild steel corrosion in 1.0MHCl and 1.5M HCl under atmospheric exposure have been investigated using weight loss technique.The study revealed that mild steel corrodes in HCl solution, but is inhibited in the presence of HEC.The corrosion rate decreased with increase in HEC concentration. The inhibition efficienciesincreased with inhibitor concentration. The maximum inhibition efficiency of 69.617% and 58.145%were observed with mild steel corrosion in 1.0M HCl and 1.5M HCl respectively. This inhibitioncould be attributed to the molecules of the HEC adsorbed on the mild steel surface forming elasticfilm which reduces the surface area available for corrosion attack. The corrosion current was alsodetermined. It was observed that corrosion current was higher in 1.5M HCl than 1.0M HCl. Also, thecorrosion current decreased with increasing inhibitor concentration.