Regarding the issue of spontaneous combustion in stainless steel
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This post was last edited by sunjl1981 on 2013-1-6 at 20:08. Our company uses stainless steel 316L for the heat exchangers in its finished products. During a maintenance task a few days ago, when the plates were removed to half their length, sparks were observed at the feed inlet on the alkali side, along with black smoke; upon further inspection, it was found that the stainless steel at the inlet had carbonized. What causes this phenomenon? # hcbbs
The original poster had better investigate the actual situation properly. How can stainless steel carbonize? The main components of stainless steel are iron, chromium, and nickel; even when it is corroded, things like rust are formed, which causes the steel to carbonize. What is that process? That is a nuclear reaction.
But at that time, the stainless steel did indeed catch fire and then turned into a black, brittle gray substance
This situation occurs only around the stainless steel at the alkali inlet
It must be oxidation! Could it be that chlorine or other strong oxidizing substances have gotten in?
I’ve heard of it for the first time; be more specific.
It’s highly unlikely that stainless steel would burn; this idea seems strange to most people, as 316L is inherently resistant to high temperatures. In chlor-alkali production, there is simply no place where temperatures exceed 1,000 degrees. I wonder if it could be a washer issue! Some static electricity is generated during the maintenance process, leading to combustion.
It is estimated that there is electric heating at the alkali feed pipe; during maintenance, the power was not turned off, which caused a short circuit and resulting electric sparks. There is no way for spontaneous combustion to occur.