Experimental and Runge–Kutta Method Simulation to Investigate Corrosion Kinetics of Mild Steel in Sulfuric Acid Solutions

Abstract

The mild steel is extensively used in different industrial applications and the biggest problem in the application of mild steel is corrosion. In this work, the reaction kinetics of mild steel with sulfuric acid at different concentrations and at different temperatures were studied in combination with the experimental data and theoretical approach using the Runge–Kutta method. The results revealed that the rate of reaction constant for temperatures in the range of 30–50°C was changed from 2618 to 2793 L3/mol3.h, respectively. The order of reaction of mild steel was 4th order in all temperature ranges. The enthalpy, entropy, and Gibbs free energy of mild steel reaction at a temperature of 298 K were estimated. The activation energy (E/R) of the reaction was 4.829 K. It was concluded that the sulfuric acid reaction with mild steel occurred easily and the inhibitors should be used in these systems.