Acid Failure of Mild Steel in 2 M Sulphuric Acid in the Presence of Vernonia amygdalina

The degradation of mild steel in 2 M sulphuric acid solution in the presence of Vernonia amygdalina extract was investigated using gasometric technique. Mild steel coupons of dimension 4 cm by 1.5 cm were immersed in test solutions of uninhibited acid and also those containing extract concentrations of 60,100 and 140 cm3 at a temperature of 333K for 60 minutes. The volumes of hydrogen gas evolved from the reaction were recorded and examined. The results showed that while extract concentration was increasing, H2 evolution and % I.E increased, with a reduction in corrosion rate. The reduction in corrosion rate was observed to follow in order of increasing extract concentration. Also, phytoconstituent-metal interaction mechanism was best explained by Freundlich isotherm, with the 4 minutes curve becoming the best contact time for the extract phytochemicals to properly adsorb to metal surface across all concentrations used. Furthermore, an expression suitable for estimating corrosion rate values once concentration is known was also obtained. The microstructural studies however, revealed that increasing the extract concentration led to considerable reduction in the dominant coarsening of the oxide of iron phase, while the pearlite and ferrite phases were highly dispersed.