OBSERVATIONS ON THE INFLUENCE OF CLEANERS ON MATERIAL CORROSION IN THE FOOD-INDUSTRY

Characterization studies have been carried out on cleaners and sanitiz ing processes that cause corrosion on AISI 304 and AISI 316 stainless steels and on pure aluminum-materials used in food industry equipment. Corrosion phenomena were evaluated by means of electrochemical polari zation measurements, and surface deterioration was studied with the us e of scanning electron microscopy. The results indicated a relation be tween corrosion potentials and damage morphology, which depended on th e alkaline or acidic nature of the environment of the cleaning product s and their effects on the surface condition of materials. (C) Elsevie r Science Inc., 1996.