ISSN print edition: 0366-6352 ISSN electronic edition: 1336-9075 Registr. No.: MK SR 9/7 Published monthly

Electrochemical studies on the corrosion performance of ternary ethanol–butanol–gasoline and methanol–butanol–gasoline blends

Preeti Nair, Meenakshi Halada Nandakrishnan, and Nandhini Dhanavel

Centre for Incubation, Innovation, Research and Consultancy, Jyothy Institute of Technology, Tataguni, Bangalore, India

E-mail: meenaparam75@gmail.com

Received: 30 June 2023  Accepted: 26 October 2023

Abstract:

We are still largely dependent on SI and CI engines to power marine freight, aircraft and land transport. These engines make use of fossil fuels which are not just going to get depleted in due course; they are also a major cause of air pollution. Burning fossil fuels causes large emission of heat trapping gases which are responsible for the climatic changes being witnessed on our planet. There is an immediate need therefore to shift to alternate fuels which are greener and sustainable. Six different fuel blends were used for this study which was prepared by mixing different proportions of ethanol, methanol, butanol and gasoline. The purpose of mixing alcohols with gasoline is to reduce to consumption of gasoline. These blends have reported satisfactory engine performance and also burn greener. Alcohols have numerous advantages as fuels but they are polar and have high affinity towards moisture. This makes these alcohol–gasoline blends to be more corrosive in nature. The present study measures the corrosion rate of aluminium and mild steel (MS) using potentiodynamic polarization and impedance spectroscopy. Electrochemical studies were performed using a three-electrode system. These techniques are much more rapid when compared to the traditional weight loss measurement techniques. Tafel plots directly give the corrosion current and corrosion rate. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy is also a reliable technique to determine corrosion rate and can accurately measure extremely small corrosion rate values even in a low-conducting alcohol–gasoline fuel blend environment. Of the two metals studied, MS was found to be prone to undergoing more corrosion. The results would be of great help to assess the compatibility of the metallic parts of the automobiles and of fuelling infrastructure materials with these alternate fuels.

Keywords: Tafel curves; Impedance spectroscopy; Alcohol–gasoline blends; Compatibility studies; Corrosion rate

Full paper is available at www.springerlink.com.

DOI: 10.1007/s11696-023-03178-4

Chemical Papers 78 (3) 1517–1527 (2024)