"acid cleaning of 304 ss vessels"
Question:
"I work in a brewery , and I would like to receive some information/links or data about comparative corrosion of 3% solutions of inorganic acids on 304 ss . Which is the best acid for a regular cleaning operation , concerning corrosion and cleaning properties , taking into account that the soil is a mix of hop oils, dry yeast , and beer stone ( calcium oxalate ) in a fermentation vessel ? I have tried nitric , sulfuric , sulfamic , phosphoric , and I have a reference about glycolic . Other reference is acetic acid."
Answer:
For information on acid cleaning, descaling ,etc. of austenitic stainless steels (304SS), please refer to ASTM A 380, " Cleaning, Descaling and Passivation of Stainless Steel Parts, Equipment and Systems". You can obtain this document from ASTM's web site at http://www.astm.org. For information regarding the corrosion of 304SS in organic acids, a good reference book is "Materials Selector for Hazardous Chemicals, Vol. 2: Formic, Acetic and Other Organic Acids". You can contact NACE at 281-228-6200 or visit their web site at http://www.nace.org.